I 

The 


Rev.  "Billy"  Sunday 


LIBRARY 

UWIVEh         t  OF 
CALIFCKrtIA 

SAN  DIEGO       . 


1 


Spectacular  Career  of 
Rev.  Billy  Sunday 

Famous  Baseball  Evangelist 


BY 


THEODORE  THOMAS  FRANKENBERG 

STAFF  OHIO  STATE  JOURNAL 
AUTHOR  "ESSENTIALS  IN  JOURNALISM,'' ETC, 


MCCLELLAND  &  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS 
COLUMBUS,  OHIO 


15343 


COPYRIGHTED,  1913, 

BY  GEORGE  V.  SHERIDAN  AND  T.  T.  FRANKENBERG. 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


PRESS  OF 

THE  F.  J.  HEER 

PRINTING  Co. 


INTRODUCTION 


TN  offering  to  the  world  the  first  'comprehensive 
biography  of  Rev.  W.  A.  Sunday,  the  famous 
evangelist,  it  is  necessary  at  the  very  outset  to 
absolve  Mr.  Sunday  from  any  responsibility  for  the 
venture  or  any  interest  in  it. 

Mr.  Sunday  has  been  repeatedly  and  unjustly  ac- 
cused of  petty  machinations  for  profit  and  gain,  there- 
fore, this  statement  is  justly  due  him. 

Mr.  Sunday  derives  no  revenue  from  any  of  the 
several  publications  which  are  sold  during  his  cam- 
paigns, with  the  exception  of  pamphlet  formed  edi- 
tions of  four  of  his  sermons,  and  all  of  this  money 
he  gives  to  charity.  It  is  true,  that  Mr.  Sunday  did 
consider  at  the  outset  being  interested  in  the  present 
publication,  but  as  it  began  to  grow  and  take  form 
with  the  gathering  of  data ;  and  as  the  importance  of 
the  work,  and  its  wide-spread  demand  became  more 
and  more  apparent,  it  was  felt  that  proper  delicacy 
on  the  evangelist's  part  would  not  permit  of  his  con- 
nection with  the  enterprise.  It  became  obviously 
necessary  to  say  so  many  things  of  an  extremely 
laudatory  nature,  that  any  participation  of  the  evan- 
gelist in  the  work,  would  have  been  subjected  to  gross 
misconstruction. 

On  the  other  hand,  fidelity  to  the  public  de- 
manded the  incorporation  of  certain  things  upon 
which  the  public's  view  and  the  evangelist's  have  not 

3 


4  INTRODUCTION 

always  coincided.  Mr.  Sunday  has  been  for  some- 
time compiling  data  concerning  his  work,  and  this 
will  probably  at  some  time  appear  in  book  form. 

The  necessary  autobiographical  nature  of  his 
work  will  have  an  interest  from  which  no  other  book 
can  detract,  but  which  will  hardly  have  the  degree  of 
self-laudation,  which  a  large  reflex  of  his  life  and 
work  must  possess. 

The  author  is  under  many  obligations  to  dozens, 
and  even  hundreds  of  persons  who  have  contributed 
facts  and  information  herein  incorporated.  He  has, 
so  far  as  possible,  studiously  avoided  any  expression 
or  editorial  opinion;  confining  himself  to  facts  or  to 
quotations  directly  from  persons  informed,  or  from 
official  records. 

An  important  part  of  this  work  is  a  list  of  names 
and  addresses  of  all  those  who  have  furnished  in- 
formation, incorporated  in  this  work,  and  whose  tes- 
timony is  a  sufficient  index  to  the  truth  and  reliabil- 
ity of  the  present  undertaking. 

In  a  work  of  this  kind  it  is  too  much  to  hope  that 
errors  have  not  crept  in.  They  are,  however,  the 
errors  which  arise  from  differences  of  opinion  or  the 
occasional  necessity  of  accepting  a  report  which  could 
not  be  verified  definitely.  The  list  of  authorities  cited 
in  the  back  of  the  book  will  enable  those  who  are  in- 
terested, to  pursue  further  investigation  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Sunday's  career  on  their  own  account. 

To  all  these,  and  others  who  may  not  be  directly 
quoted,  the  author  makes  heartfelt  acknowledgment. 
Assured  by  the  many  kindly  indications  of  interest 


INTRODUCTION  5 

which  have  come  from  all  parts  of  the  country  that 
the  book  will  have  a  considerable  welcome,  the  author 
commends  it  to  the  attention  of  the  thousands  of  ad- 
mirers of  Rev.  Billy  Sunday  everywhere  in  the  United 
States. 

Theodore  Thomas  Frankenberg, 
Columbus,  Ohio, 
November,  1913. 


DR.  J.  WILBUR  CHAPMAN. 


FOREWARD 

1HAVE  the  very  greatest  possible  joy  and  delight 
in  the  successful  ministry  of  the  Rev.  W.  A. 
Sunday.  I  consider  him  one  of  the  most  gen- 
uine, true-hearted  men  I  have  ever  known  and  be- 
lieve that  he  has  almost  in  perfection  what  every 
minister  must  have  if  he  is  to  be  a  success  in  his 
preaching,  namely,  a  consuming  passion,  that  all  who 
do  not  know  Christ  should  accept  Him  as  a  Saviour. 
It  is,  of  course,  not  possible  for  everyone  to 
possess  the  remarkable  gifts  with  which  Mr.  Sun- 
day has  been  naturally  endowed,  but  it  is  pos- 
sible to  be  dead  in  earnest,  and  without  in  any 
way  detracting  from  Mr.  Sunday's  mental,  physical 
and  spiritual  equipment,  I  shall  not  be  misun- 
derstood when  I  say  that  much  of  his  phenomenal 
success  is  to  be  traced  to  his  downright  earnestness. 
A  half-hearted  minister  has  never  yet  done  much  in 
the  cause  of  Christ,  and  Mr.  Sunday  is  setting  the 
ministers  of  the  United  States  and  the  world  a  noble 
example  in  thus  throwing  himself  into  his  great  work 
with  such  tremendous  zeal.  I  do  not  know  how  long 
he  can  last  if  he  continues  working  under  such  heavy 
pressure,  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  has  counted 
the  cost  and  that  he  has  fully  decided  that  it  will  be 
far  better  for  him  to  preach  for  a  limited  time  as  he 
is  now  preaching  and  have  the  consciousness  that  he 
is  being  blessed  of  God  in  his  work,  and  turning  mul- 

7 


8  THE   FOREWORD 

titudes  to  Christ  rather  than  to  live  a  less  strenuous 
life  and  see  a  fewer  number  come  to  the  Savior. 

If  a  fair  proportion  of  the  ministers  of  the 
Church  would  preach  with  the  same  spirit  of  aban- 
donment which  possesses  Mr.  Sunday  I  believe  all 
the  world  would  hear  of  Christ  in  a  generation.  It  is 
one  of  my  great  joys  to  realize  that  I  may  have  had 
some  influence  in  determining  Mr.  Sunday's  life 
work.  He  came  to  me  many  years  ago  to  help  in  my 
services.  He  was  ready  to  do  anything  if  only  he 
could  be  of  assistance  to  me,  to  sell  books,  to  direct 
the  ushers,  to  look  after  the  inquirers,  to  make  my 
burdens  lighter  in  every  way,  and  he  had  the  same 
hearty  enthusiasm  in  doing  such  ordinary  things  as  he 
has  since  displayed  in  his  most  remarkable  work. 

One  day  in  Urbana,  Ohio,  I  had  a  request  from 
someone  out  of  town  for  a  speaker,  and  I  asked  Mr. 
Sunday  to  accept  the  invitation.  He  seemed  greatly 
frightened,  said  that  he  could  not  speak  and  that  he 
was  not  the  man  for  the  place.  Finally  it  was  de- 
termined that  he  should  tell  the  story  of  his  conver- 
sion. Following  that  day's  services  the  most  inter- 
esting reports  were  made  to  me  of  the  impression 
which  he  had  made  upon  his  audience,  and  I  then  had 
the  conviction  that  he  ought  to  do  more  of  this  sort  of 
work,  and  I  suggested  to  him  that  he  ought  to  go  to 
a  number  of  places  and  stay  for  a  week's  meetings. 
When  he  told  me  that  he  did  not  have  sermons  I 
asked  him  to  make  use  of  anything  that  he  had  heard 
me  say,  and  told  him  that  I  should  feel  highly  honored 
at  his  doing  so.  It  was  thus  that  he  started,  so  far 
as  I  can  remember.  His  successful  work  from  that 
day  to  this  needs  no  descriptive  word  of  mine  for  how- 


THE   FOREWORD  9 

ever  much  men  may  differ  with  him  as  regards 
method,  all  will  agree  if  they  know  him  at  all  that  he 
is  absolutely  honest  and  sincere  as  well  as  being  a 
truly  great  man.  I  consider  Mr.  Sunday  very  gen- 
erous. I  cannot  think  of  any  time  that  he  has  met 
me  and  had  opportunity  for  conversation  that  he  has 
not  said  to  me — "Do  you  need  any  money?"  And 
that  he  has  not  told  me  that  if  I  did  need  it  he  would 
gladly  give  it  to  me.  Fortunately  for  me  and  possibly 
for  him  I  have  not  found  it  necessary  to  accept  his 
kind  offers  of  monetary  gifts,  but  he  has  never  made 
the  suggestion  that  I  have  not  had  a  glimpse  of  his 
great  and  generout  heart. 

It  is  a  matter  of  small  concern  to  me  as  to  what 
methods  Mr.  Sunday  may  use.  I  am  not  at  all  dis- 
turbed that  he  should  be  working  plans  which  are 
exactly  the  opposite  of  my  own.  Sam  Jones  never 
said  a  better  thing  than  when  he  said,  "God  never 
made  two  men  alike  without  making  one  of  them  a 
fool."  I  am  filled  with  rejoicing  that  Mr.  Sunday  is 
just  himself,  honest,  sincere,  noble,  devoted  to  Christ 
and  filled  with  an  intense  longing  to  see  others  accept 
Him  as  their  Saviour,  and  I  shall  ever  pray  that  God 
may  long  spare  him  for  his  work,  and  that  his  career 
of  usefulness  may  be  greater  and  greater  as  the  days 
pass  by. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  influence  a  number  of 
men  to  enter  the  ministry,  and  my  great  joy  to  en- 
courage not  a  few  to  take  up  evangelistic  work,  and 
insofar  as  I  have  been  able  to  do  so  I  have  sought 
to  encourage  them  in  their  efforts,  and  give  to  them 
unsparingly  of  my  influence  that  their  work  might  be 
owned  and  blessed  of  God,  but  of  all  with  whom  I 


10  THE  FOREWORD 

have  come  in  contact  I  must  say  that  I  am  more 
grateful  to  God  for  Mr.  Sunday  and  for  his  ministry 
than  I  can  ever  express  in  words.  God  bless  him, 
and  more  and  more  mightily  use  him  is  my  prayer. 

J.  WILBUR  CHAPMAN. 
October,  1913. 
3  Park  Gardens,  W.,  Glasgow,  Scotland. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

FOREWORD  —  By  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman     .     .  7 

I.    THE  MAN  — WHO  HE  Is 13 

II.    ORPHANED  SON  OF  AN  IOWA  PATRIOT    ...  25 

III.  THE  BOY'S  STRUGGLE  UPWARDS 89 

IV.  A  STAR  OF  THE  WHITE  Sox 49 

V.    THE  MEMORABLE  NIGHT  IN  VAN  BUREN  STREET  61 

VI.    COURTING  NELL 73 

VII.    APPLIED  CHRISTIANITY  AT  $83  PER  MONTH     .     .  79 

VIII.    TENTS,  TABERNACLES  AND  OTHER  THINGS     .     .  87 

IX.    THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  SUNDAY'S  REVIVAL  CAM- 
PAIGNS    97 

X.     SOME  WHO  HAVE  ASSISTED 113 

XL    SOME  GREAT  CAMPAIGNS 123 

XII.     SOME  GREATER  CAMPAIGNS 141 

XIII.  THE  GLADDEN-SUNDAY  CONTROVERSY  ....  159 

XIV.  MA 175 

XV.    THE  HUMAN  SIDE  OF  THE  EVANGELIST     .     .     .  189 

XVI.     EPISODES,  INCIDENTS,  COMMENT  AND  QUOTATIONS  203 

APPENDIX                                       .  229 


11 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  MAN  — WHO  HE  IS 

How  evangelists  come  by  their  ranking  —  Motives  that 
operate,  standards  that  change  —  Dr.  Green  in  Hamp- 
ton's Magazine  —  Lindsay  Denison  in  the  American 
Magazine  —  Bruce  Barton  gives  views  in  Collier's  — 
Quotations  from  the  daily  and  from  the  religious 
press. 

13 


CHAPTER  I 


HAT  does  it  mean  to  be  ranked  with  Wesley 
and  with  Luther;  Savonarola  and  with 
Peter  the  Hermit?  Yes,  to  be  coupled  with 
the  Twelve  who  walked  with  the  lowly  Nazarene? 

Either  it  means  a  Wonder  Man  marked  through 
all  the  ages,  or  it  means  a  greatly  exaggerated  and 
distorted  vision,  due  to  proximity  to  the  object  ad- 
mired. 

At  fifty  the  world's  judgment  of  a  man  usually 
is  the  one  that  will  endure.  The  stroke  oar  of  Har- 
vard fades  into  the  inconspicuous  haunts  of  a  small 
town  high  school,  or  the  Princeton  half-back  is  for- 
gotten in  the  petty  politics  of  a  western  country.  The 
winner  of  the  Marathon — who  recalls  his  name  after 
the  lapse  of  the  first  Olympiad?  The  fame  that 
comes  in  youth  is  more  often  than  not  of  a  transitory 
nature.  The  man  of  fifty,  who  is  beginning  to  re- 
ceive the  acclaim  of  his  fellows,  and  serious  com- 
mendation, as  well  a  vituperative  opposition,  is  one 
who  has  built  on  a  sure  foundation,  and  has  come 
from  little  to  more,  and  from  great  to  greater  through 
a  natural  method  and  evolution,  which  has  given  the 
strength  and  stamina  that  will  endure  in  the  way  of 
reputation  after  the  life  itself  has  gone  out. 

How  far  it  is  fitting  and  correct  to  consider  Rev. 
William  Ashley  Sunday,  familiarly  known  as  "Billy" 
Sunday,  the  base-ball  evangelist,  the  greatest  living 
evangelist  and  possibly  the  greatest  since  the  days  of 

15 


16  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

Pentecost,  is  a  question  well  worthy  of  serious  con- 
sideration in  the  light  of  all  the  facts  that  can  be 
adduced. 

The  merest  statement  of  his  accredited  accom- 
plishments is  startling.  More  than  100  series  of  meet- 
ings held  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land,  resulting  in  the  professed  conversion  of  more 
than  200,000  souls,  is  a  record  which,  on  its  face, 
will  challenge  comparison  with  the  most  conspicuous 
in  ancient  or  modern  history.  To  establish  the  jus- 
tice of  comparison,  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  the 
merit  of  the  methods  employed,  nor  the  motives  that 
have  operated — to  do  this,  would  be  to  vitiate  all 
standards  and  compel  history  to  be  rewritten  from 
the  time  when  Constantine  swung  an  empire  into  the 
Christian  fold  and  became  an  object  of  suspicion  for 
all  succeeding  generations. 

Early  missionaries  who  made  their  way  north 
from  Italy  into  the  wilds  of  Gaul,  Germany  and  the 
British  Isles  are  accredited  with  wonderful  results 
in  converting  the  natives  to  the  Christian  faith.  Yet, 
it  is  admitted  history  that  in  many  instances,  a  tribe 
or  clan  followed  blindly  in  the  wake  of  its  leader  and 
religious  observances  were  laid  on  and  off  like  a 
mantle.  Neither  will  the  history  of  the  modern 
church  stand  scrutiny  if  the  inner  motives  that 
prompted  all  of  the  leaders  are  questioned  in  the 
light  of  high  moral  standards.  Henry  VIII  divorced 
England  from  the  Roman  church  that  he  might  di- 
vorce himself  from  an  objectionable  wife.  The 
princes  of  Northern  Germany  espoused  the  cause  of 
Luther,  because  it  gave  them  a  pretext  to  war  against 
the  domination  of  the  House  of  Austria.  Yet,  in  the 


THE    MAN WHO    IS    HE  17 

history  of  the  world  and  the  advance  of  religion,  all 
of  these  men  and  their  actions  have  played  impor- 
tant and  lasting  parts. 

Criticism,  is,  and  always  has  been  directed  against 
the  methods  and  the  results  achieved  in  evangelical 
and  general  Christian  work.  An  unbiased  contempla- 
tion of  history  simply  compels  the  conclusion  that 
there  are  at  the  present  time  no  recognized  standards 
whereby  the  work  of  various  men  in  various  ages 
may  be  measured  honestly. 

It  is  only  possible,  therefore,  to  estimate  Rev.  Mr. 
Sunday  by  comparing  his  admitted  achievements  with 
the  accredited  achievements  of  the  great  historical 
evangelists,  and  with  these  it  would  seem  that  he 
ranks  in  every  way  a  peer.  Coming  from  the  com- 
parative obscurity  of  what  is  generally  known  as  the 
Middle  West,  he  has  in  late  years  challenged  the  at- 
tention of  the  entire  country,  and  there  has  been  de- 
voted to  him  recently  a  considerable  amount  of  dis- 
interested attention  from  which  a  consensus  of  judg- 
ment can  be  established. 

As  early  as  June  1910  Dr.  Thomas  E.  Green, 
writing  in  Hampton's  magazine,  said,  after  an  ex- 
tended description  of  the  man's  manners: 

That's  Billy  Sunday,  America's  great  evan- 
gelist. On  the  platform  he  "plays  ball."  Attitude, 
gestures,  methods  —  he  crouches,  rushes,  whirls, 
bangs  his  message  out,  as  if  he  were  at  the  bat 
in  the  last  inning,  with  two  men  out  and  the  bases 
full.  And  he  can  go  into  any  city  in  America  and 
for  six  weeks  talk  to  six  thousand  people  twice  a 
day  and  simply  turn  that  community  inside  out. 

2 


18  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

Over  300,000  people  have  been  "converted"  under 
his  preaching  —  and  he  says,  ninety  per  cent  of 
them  stick. 

Even  earlier  than  that  Lindsay  Denison  writing 
in  the  September  1907  number  of  the  American  Mag- 
azine, without  making  a  pretense  to  direct  interest  in 
religion,  nor  posing  as  an  authority  on  that  subject, 
said: 

I  have  seen  many  a  university  foot-ball  vic- 
tory celebration;  I  have  seen  several  riots  of 
joy  after  a  Yale-Harvard  boat  race;  I  was  in  the 
headquarters  of  District  Attorney  Jerome  of  New 
York  when  the  word  came,  on  election  night,  that 
he  had  beaten  independently  the  candidates  of  all 
the  regular  parties.  But  I  have  never  seen  any 
crowd  more  beside  itself  than  was  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  tabernacle  when  the  meeting  was  over. 
The  noise  was  inchoate  until  Fred  Fischer  took 
charge  and  organized  it.  There  were  a  hundred 
dangerous  rushes  by  people  at  the  back  to  reach 
the  platform  and  Bill  Sunday.  Fischer  got  them 
singing.  When  they  were  tired  of  singing  a  tune, 
he  asked  them  to  whistle  it  and  then  to  hum  it. 
Now  and  then  somebody  got  up  and  interrupted 
by  calling  for  three  cheers  for  Billy  Sunday!  And 
when  it  was  announced  that  altogether  Sunday  had 
won  1,118  Fairfield  souls  from  the  Devil  for  Christ 
it  seemed  as  though  the  roof  was  tugging  at  the 
rafters. 

After  the  remarkable  work  in  Columbus  the 
larger  magazines  began  to  give  more  and  more  at- 
tention to  the  career  of  this  evangelist.  Bruce  Barton 
was  assigned  by  Collier's  to  make  a  close  study  of  the 
man  and  his  method,  and  in  the  spring  of  1913  he 
made  this  summing  up : 


THE    MAN WHO    IS    HE  19 

It's  fourteenth-century  theology,  you  say,  and 
perhaps  that's  true.  But  there  is  no  cant  in  it. 
It  is  the  hard-hitting  message  of  a  strong  man, 
stirred  to  the  depths  of  his  soul  by  the  spectacle 
of  puny,  impotent,  mortal  men  setting  themselves 
in  revolt  against  the  purpose  of  Almighty  God. 
And  men  respond  to  it  —  the  leading  men  of  the 
city  —  editors,  merchants,  bankers,  as  well  as  the 
rank  and  file.  No  other  evangelist  owes  so  little 
of  his  success  to  emotionalism;  none  other  can 
number  a  larger  proportion  of  men  and  women  on 
his  convert  rolls. 

You  must  hear  him  more  than  once  to  know 
his  power ;  indeed  it  takes  quite  the  cumulative  ef- 
fect of  his  meetings,  night  after  night,  to  represent 
him  adequately.  The  particular  sermon  that  you 
may  hear  may  seem  to  you  overdrawn,  even  futile; 
the  immediate  effect  of  it  on  the  converts  who  come 
forward  may  appear  all  out  of  proportion  to  its 
worth.  You  should  have  heard  them  all.  I  heard 
him  once  in  a  little  town  in  Central  Illinois  —  a 
rainy  night,  when  he  spoke  with  difficulty  and,  to 
my  mind,  poorly.  "Surely,"  I  said  to  myself,  "this 
is  an  off  night  for  Billy;  there'll  be  no  response 
to  a  sermon  like  that."  And  yet  he  had  hardly 
concluded  when  the  converts  came  trooping  toward 
the  platform,  and  the  first  man  among  them  the 
president  of  the  local  gas  company. 

It  is  the  hammer,  hammer,  hammer  of  six 
or  seven  weeks  of  man-to-man  talk  that  compels 
results. 

And  the  results  —  what  are  they? 

In  Decatur,  111.,  he  labored  six  weeks,  and 
more  than  5,000  persons  pressed  forward  to  take 
his  hand  —  the  sign  of  their  intention  to  begin 
another  life.  The  meetings  closed  on  the  eve  of 
a  local  option  election.  On  the  morning  after  the 
election,  when  the  result  of  the  overwhelming  vote 


20  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

was  known,  there  appeared  this  sign  in  the  front 
window  of  one  of  the  most  prominent  saloons : 


CLOSED  UNTIL  FURTHER  NOTICE. 

By  order  of 
BILLY  SUNDAY. 


The  Herald,  a  newspaper  in  Decatur,  had 
for  years  served  the  interests  of  the  local  Re- 
publican machine  with  a  fidelity  that  was  as  un- 
swerving as  it  was  conscienceless.  For  the  stars 
to  reverse  themselves  in  their  orbits  would  have 
caused  no  greater  surprise  in  Decatur  than  for  the 
Herald  to  bolt  the  machine  ticket.  Yet  after 
the  meetings  the  Herald  did  bolt,  and  declared 
itself  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Mayor,  nominated  on  a  reform  platform.  "The  in- 
fluence of  that  paper,  conducted  as  it  is,"  said  one 
of  the  thoughtful  men  of  Decatur,  "is  worth  $500,- 
000  to  this  town ;  and  Sunday  did  it." 

In  the  same  article  occurs  another  paragraph  that 
refers  to  a  paper  in  the  City  of  Columbus: 

The  Ohio  State  Journal  was  compelled  to 
deny  editorially  that  its  first-page  columns,  which 
were  given  over  every  morning  to  the  meetings, 
as  well  as  the  whole  second  page,  had  been  pur- 
chased by  the  Sunday  organization.  "We  never  re- 
ceived a  cent,"  it  said,  "never  expect  to;  would  not 
take  it  if  it  were  offered.  Devoting  so  much  space 
to  Billy  Sunday  is  newspaper  business,  pure  and 
simple.  The  people  want  to  read  what  he  says. 
In  all  our  experience  we  never  knew  of  such  uni- 
versal desire  to  read  something  as  there  is  to  read 
Mr.  Sunday's  sermons.  Therefore  we  print  them." 


THE    MAN  —  WHO   IS    HE  21 

Think  of  that  from  a  leading  newspaper  in  a  city 
of  nearly  200,000,  with  all  its  thousand  conflicting 
interests. 

Mr.  Barton  seems  to  lay  particular  stress  upon 
the  importance  of  newspapers  when  it  comes  to  es- 
timating the  work  of  a  revivalist,  as  he  is  at  some 
pains  to  quote  a  third  instance  of  the  same  general 
type,  reproducing  the  following  publisher's  notice 
which  appeared  on  the  front  page  of  the  McKees- 
port,  Pa.  Times  when  the  Sunday  campaign  closed 
there  in  the  fall  of  1912: 

From  this  date  forward  the  Evening  Times 
will  not  accept  the  advertisement  of  any  distiller, 
brewer,  or  wholesale  or  retail  liquor  dealer.  This 
rule  is  made  a  part  of  the  policy  of  the  advertising 
department  of  this  newspaper. 

From  this  date  forward  the  Evening  Times 
will  not  accept  the  advertisement  of  any  manu- 
facturer or  seller  of  remedies  for  diseases  caused 
by  vice,  appliances  or  preparations  that  are  against 
morality  and  good  public  policy,  of  practitioners 
who  prey  upon  the  credulity  and  fear  of  youth, 
or  of  compounds  of  the  "make  beer  at  home"  sort. 
A  few  advertisements  that  come  under  these  last 
headings  are  now  running  in  the  Evening  Times 
under  contract,  but  such  arrangements  will  be  dis- 
continued at  the  earliest  possible  day. 

It  is  the   desire  of  the  management   of   this 
newspaper  that  it  shall  be  a  force  for  the  better- 
ment of  its  city  and  district,  and  no  effort  will  be 
spared  to  make  and  keep  its  columns  so  clean  that 
it  may  be  read  every  day  with  entire  safety  and 
real  benefit  by  persons  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes. 
McKEESPORT  TIMES   COMPANY, 
BY  WILLIAM  B.  KAY, 

General  Manager. 


22  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

So  much  for  the  secular  press.  In  conclusion,  it 
is  interesting  to  quote  from  the  well  known  Congre- 
gationalist  which  because  of  the  attitude  of  certain 
ministers  in  that  denomination  was  popularly  sup- 
posed to  be  opposed  to  Mr.  Sunday.  In  an  editorial 
of  its  issue  in  April  1913,  it  said: 

Who  can  help  rejoicing  when  the  inertia  and 
indifference  of  years  gives  way  to  love  for  God 
and  the  service  of  others,  when  men  who  have 
lived  long  in  the  under-world  and  have  become 
besotted  and  brutal  are  totally  reconstructed.  Hu- 
manly speaking,  Mr.  Sunday  effects  such  results 
in  countless  cases  and,  humanly  speaking,  these 
changes  would  not  be  likely  to  come  about  without 
him.  And  who  can  doubt  that  along  with  increas- 
ing reliance  upon  cultural  methods  we  need  also 
to  preach  and  to  stand  for  a  gospel  that  radically 
and  often  changes  the  inner  life.  Many  men  and 
women  in  middle  life  today  are  far  beyond  the 
reach  of  cultural  methods.  They  need  the  sound- 
ing of  a  trumpet  which  will  awaken  them  from 
their  sleep.  It  is  significant  that,  as  a  rule,  those 
who  work  with  Mr.  Sunday  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  a  campaign  reach  a  point  where  they 
are  more  inclined  to  appreciation  than  to  criticism 
or  condemnation. 

No  effort  is  here  made  to  cite  unnumbered  com- 
mendations from  the  press  of  the  cities  in  which  Mr. 
Sunday  has  labored,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
his  standing  as  an  evangelist.  They  would  be  open  to 
criticism  of  possible  bias.  National  magazines,  edited 
with  a  view  of  giving  truth  as  nearly  as  they  can  by 
securing  authentic  information  for  thousands  who 
have  no  opportunity  for  first-hand  observation,  have 
seen  fit  to  endorse  this  man  in  no  unmeasured  terms, 


THE    MAN WHO   IS    HE  23 

and  to  verify  for  themselves  the  statements  of  the 
daily  press  in  the  various  communities  where  Mr. 
Sunday  has  labored.  Students  of  history  will  know 
the  accomplishments  of  the  great  evangelist  of  all 
ages,  and  those  who  are  not  thus  informed  will  be 
content  with  the  statement  from  these  persons  as  au- 
thority, that  never  in  the  history  of  the  Christian 
faith  have  more  men  and  women  been  moved  to  make 
an  expression  of  their  faith  in  the  gospel  teachings, 
than  have  resulted  from  the  ministrations  of  this  re- 
markable man. 

These  are  the  fruits  of  his  labors  as  he  com- 
pletes the  cycle  of  a  half  century  of  life.  They  are 
not  sudden  or  spasmodic  expression  of  opinion ;  rather 
in  some  instances  they  seem  to  have  been  grudgingly 
given,  or  seem  to  indicate  that  the  person  making 
them  had  first  to  be  persuaded  of  their  truth  himself. 

Concerning  such  a  man,  it  may  be  worth  while 
to  question  further  of  his  life  and  work. 


CHAPTER  II 


ORPHANED  SON  OF  AN  IOWA  PATRIOT 

Ancestry  of  the  Sunday  family  —  Born  in  Iowa  —  Father 
dies  without  seeing  his  son  —  Life  in  an  orphan  asy- 
lum —  What  the  superintendent  says  —  Early  childish 
escapades  —  Caring  for  ponies  and  going  to  school  — 
What  Billy's  mother  has  to  say  about  her  famous  son. 

25 


CHAPTER  II 


GOD  makes  few  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  in 
preparing  His  great  men  for  the  world. 
Almost  invariably  they  come  from  the  soil  and 
from  humble  origin  —  yet  the  stock  is  always  good. 
The  seclusion  of  the  Kentucky  mountains,  and  the 
grinding  poverty  of  a  small  cabin,  could  not  hide  the 
blood  that  flowed  in  Abraham  Lincoln's  veins.  Gar- 
field  on  a  tow-path  was  a  true  descendant  of  the 
Revolution.  The  rule  holds  with  most  of  the  truly 
great  who  have  preached  the  Inspired  Word,  and 
Rev.  W.  A.  Sunday  is  no  exception. 

Ames,  Iowa,  still  a  very  little  place  after  more 
than  seventy-five  years  of  municipal  existence,  claims 
the  birthplace  of  the  evangelist,  and  so  hard  pressed 
and  lacking  in  comfort  were  those  early  days,  that 
Mr.  Sunday  seldom  refers  to  them  except  in  general 
terms,  or  to  point  some  pertinent  lessons  in  the  dis- 
course he  has  in  hand. 

The  Sunday  family  is  an  old  one,  even  in  this 
country.  Before  the  days  of  its  residency  in  Penn- 
sylvania the  family  lived  in  Germany.  The  German 
form  of  the  name  was  Sonntag,  and  this  was  literally 
translated  into  "Sunday"  before  the  Revolutionary 
days.  This,  in  itself,  explains  and  refutes  the  scur- 
rilous charge  sometimes  made,  that  the  evangelist  mas- 
querades under  an  assumed  name.  The  Pennsylvania 

27 


28  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

archives    show    that    several   of    the    Sunday    family 
served  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 

In  an  address  delivered  at  a  meeting  in  Pennsyl- 
vania Mr.  Sunday  took  occasion  to  refer  to  his  an- 
cestry in  these  words: 

My  grandmother  on  my  mother's  side  was 
Welsh;  my  father  was  a  German,  born  near  Cham- 
bersburg — and  you  can't  find  a  triumvirate  of  an- 
cestors for  any  man  to  be  more  proud  of  than  that. 

Some  years  before  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war 
William  Sunday,  father  of  the  evangelist,  moved  with 
his  family  from  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  and  settled  in 
Iowa.  Father  and  grandfather  were  farmers  and 
tilled  the  soil.  It  is  the  frequent  boast  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Sunday  that  at  the  age  of  nine,  he  held  a  man's  place 
in  the  harvest  field  and  did  a  full  day's  work  with  the 
rest  of  the  hands. 

With  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  William  Sun- 
day, the  evangelist's  father,  like  so  many  other  Iowa 
patriots  answered  the  early  call  for  troops.  Quoting 
from  the  records  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
War  Adjutant  General  H.  O.  S.  Heistand,  says: 

The  records  show  that  William  Sunday  was 
enrolled  August  14,  1862,  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
and  was  mustered  into  service  September  19,  1862, 
as  a  private  in  Company  E,  23d  Iowa  Infantry 
Volunteers,  to  serve  three  years,  and  that  he  died 
of  disease  December  22,  1862,  at  Patterson,  Mis- 
souri. 

Mr.  Sunday  never  saw  his  father.  On  the  ipth 
of  November,  1862  he  was  born,  the  third  of  three 
boys.  Before  he  was  two  months  old  he  was  an 


ORPHANED  SON  OF  AN   IOWA  PATRIOT  29 

orphan.  The  other  children  were  Albert  and  Edward. 
Just  how  much  the  evangelist  values  these  things  in 
his  estimate  of  life,  is  shown  in  one  of  his  well  known 
sermons  in  which  he  says: 

I  have  as  much  to  be  proud  of  as  to  lineage 
as  any  one ;  my  great-grandfather  was  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  and  my  daughter  is  eligible  to  the 
D.  A.  R.  General  U.  S.  Grant  was  a  fourth  cousin 
of  mine.  My  grandfather  and  he  played  together, 
ate  out  of  the  same  tin  pans.  When  he  was  elected 
president  he  wrote  a  letter  to  my  grandfather  ask- 
ing him  to  go  down  to  Washington  for  a  three 
weeks'  visit.  I've  seen  the  letter.  That  don't  get 
me  anything,  though. 

This  grandfather  was  one  of  the  guiding  influ- 
ences of  the  boy's  life,  and  was  possibly  second  to  his 
mother,  to  whom,  in  common  with  most  great  men, 
he  ascribes  practically  all  that  he  is.  The  grandfather 
was  an  orchardist,  and  also  a  worker  in  wood  —  very 
frequently  referred  to  in  Mr.  Sunday's  sermons,  as 
a  maker  of  caskets. 

How  hard  the  first  few  years  were,  probably  even 
the  evangelist  does  not  know.  The  meager  pension 
which  the  government  allowed  was  not  sufficient  for 
the  maintenance  of  a  family  of  four  and,  accordingly, 
at  an  early  age  the  mother  decided  that  she  would 
have  to  send  the  two  younger  boys  to  an  orphan 
asylum.  Nothing  could  be  more  effective  than  the 
evangelist's  own  description  of  the  parting,  which 
he  uses  frequently  in  his  sermons,  and  which  seems, 
naturally  enough,  to  have  made  a  very  deep  impres- 
sion on  his  young  mind. 


30  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

At  Ames,  Iowa,  he  says,  we  had  to  wait  for 
the  train  and  we  went  to  a  little  hotel  and  they 
came  about  one  o'clock  and  said :  "Get  ready  for 
the  train."  I  looked  into  mother's  face,  and  her 
eyes  were  red,  her  hair  was  disheveled.  I  said : 
"What's  the  matter  mother?"  All  the  time  Ed  and 
I  slept,  Mother  had  been  praying. 

We  went  to  the  train;  she  put  one  arm  about 
me  and  the  other  about  Ed  and  sobbed  as  if  her 
heart  would  break.  People  walked  by  and  looked 
at  us,  but  they  didn't  say  a  word.  Why?  They 
didn't  know,  and  if  they  did,  they  wouldn't  have 
cared.  Mother  knew.  She  knew  that  for  five  years 
she  wouldn't  see  her  boys.  We  got  into  the  train 
and  said  "Good-bye  mother,"  as  the  train  pulled  out. 

We  reached  Council  Bluffs.  It  was  cold  and 
we  turned  our  little  thin  coats  around  our  necks 
and  shivered.  We  saw  a  hotel  and  went  up  and 
asked  a  lady  for  something  to  eat.  She  said : 
"What's  your  name?" 

"My  name  is  Willie  Sunday  and  this  is  my 
brother  Ed." 

"Where  are  you  going?" 

"Going  to  the  Soldiers'  Orphans'  home  at 
Glenwood,"  I  said. 

She  wiped  her  tears  and  said :  "My  husband 
was  a  soldier  and  never  came  back.  He  wouldn't 
turn  anyone  away,  and  I  wouldn't  turn  you  boys 
away."  She  threw  her  arms  about  us  and  said  : 
"Come  on  in."  She  gave  us  our  breakfast  and  our 
dinner,  too.  There  wasn't  any  train  going  out  on 
the  "Q"  until  afternoon.  We  played  around  the 
freight  yards.  We  saw  a  freight  train  standing 
there,  so  we  climbed  into  the  caboose. 

The  conductor  came  along  and  said : 

"Where   is   your   money?"     "Ain't   got   any." 

"Where  is  your  ticket  ?"  "Ain't  got  any  ticket." 
"You  can't  ride  without  money  or  tickets,  I'll  have 
to  put  you  off." 


ORPHANED   SON  OF  AN   IOWA  PATRIOT  31 

We  commenced  to  cry.  My  brother  handed 
him  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  superintendent 
of  the  orphans'  home.  The  conductor  read  it, 
handed  it  back  as  the  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks. 
Then  he  said :  "Just  sit  still  boys.  It  won't  cost 
you  a  cent  to  ride  on  my  train." 

It's  only  20  miles  from  Council  Bluffs  to  Glen- 
wood,  and,  as  we  rounded  the  curve,  the  conductor 
said :  "There  it  is  on  the  hill."  We  went  there  and 
stayed  for  years. 

The  institution  at  Glenwood  was  conducted  by 
the  state  and  was  subsequently  used  for  other  pur- 
poses than  an  orphans'  home.  All  the  children  were 
transferred  to  the  newer  institution  at  Davenport. 
F.  J.  Sessions,  Superintendent  of  the  Soldiers'  Or- 
phans' Home,  at  Davenport,  says: 

Howard  E.  and  William  A.  Sunday  were  ad- 
mitted to  this  institution  by  transfer  from  the 
Glenwood,  Iowa,  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  when 
the  latter  was  closed  January  29,  1875.  They  were 
admitted  to  the  Glenwood  institution  September  25, 
1874.  Dismissed  from  this  institution  June  10,  1876. 
The  record  says  to  go  home,  but  place  is  not 
located. 

William  A.  Sunday,  according  to  our  record, 
was  born  November  18,  1862.  His  father,  William 
Sunday,  belonged  to  Company  E,  23d  Iowa  In- 
fantry. He  died  of  disease  near  Pilot  Mound, 
Missouri,  December  23,  1862. 

S.  W.  Pierce,  who  was  superintendent  of  the 
Home  when  the  Sunday  boys  were  there,  is  still  living, 
an  old  man,  at  Davenport.  His  recollections,  though 
limited,  are  clear  on  the  boyhood  days  of  the  evan- 
gelist. 


32  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

He  says :  "He  was  always  obedient,  indus- 
trious and  active  at  work  or  at  play.  He  was  a 
good  student,  and  loved  and  respected  by  those 
who  had  the  care  of  and  training  of  him." 

The  years  before  being  sent  to  the  orphans' 
asylum  were  not  without  their  value  in  their  impres- 
sions upon  the  future  evangelist,  nor  does  he  fail  to 
make  frequent  references  to  some  of  them.  An  early 
penchant  for  swimming  and  the  disaster  that  followed 
an  unauthorized  attempt  to  gratify  the  inclination,  is 
made  the  subject  of  a  forceful  illustration  in  one  of 
his  sermons.  He  represents  himself  as  saying: 

"Ma,  I  want  to  go  swimming."  She  said, 
"No,  Willie,  it's  baking  day,  and  you  must  bring  in 
cobs  and  chips."  We  used  to  have  an  old  dish  pan 
with  holes  in  it,  and  I  would  fill  it  with  cobs  and 
chips  and  bring  them  in.  I  went  and  got  some,  and 
while  I  was  at  it  I  heard  the  fellows  shouting  up  at 
the  swimming  hole.  I  took  the  old  pan  in,  then  I 
ducked.  I  went  up  and  watched  the  other  fellows 
awhile,  then  I  said  to  myself,  "Oh,  but  it's  hot !" 
So  I  took  off  my  clothes  and  went  in  and  paddled 
around  on  a  sandbar  and  picked  up  mussel  shells. 
Before  I  knew  it  I  stepped  off  into  10  feet  of  water. 
I  couldn't  keep  myself  up  and  I  went  down  and 
got  a  mouthful  of  water.  I  felt  that  I  was  going 
to  drown.  I  had  heard  that  when  a  man  drowns 
he  thinks  of  all  the  mean  things  he  has  ever 
done,  and  I  know  I  thought  of  a  lot  of  things 
right  there.  I  had  heard  that  you  would  go  down 
three  times,  and  that  when  you  went  down  the  third 
time  you  would  die.  I  came  up  once  then  went 
down  for  the  second  time.  Again  I  came  up  gasp- 
ing and  choking,  then  I  went  down  for  the  third 
time. 


ORPHANED  SON  OF  AN   IOWA  PATRIOT  33 

It  happened  that  there  was  a  man  lying  on  the 
bank  just  about  asleep.  I  didn't  know  he  was  there. 
When  he  heard  them  shouting  out,  ''Willie's  drown- 
ing!" he  jumped  up  just  in  time  to  see  me  go  down 
for  the  last  time.  He  went  in  after  me  and  groped 
around  on  the  bottom  and  found  me.  I  was  un- 
conscious when  they  took  me  out.  They  stood  me 
on  my  head  and  let  some  of  the  water  run  out  of 
me,  then  they  laid  me  down  and  worked  my  arms 
to  start  me  to  breathing  again.  They  started  to 
carry  me  home,  and  I  came  to  myself  and  said, 
"I  want  to  go  to  my  mamma.  Oh !  I'm  so  sick  at 
my  stomach !  E-yah-ah !"  and  up  came  a  lot  of 
water.  Mother  had  missed  me,  and  she  was  out 
calling,  "Wil-lie !  Wil-lie !"  They  took  me  in  and 
put  me  to  bed,  and  mother  put  a  plaster  on  me. 
She  ought  to  have  put  a  plaster  on  me  somewhere 
else.  Do  you  know  that  incident  made  such  an  im- 
pression on  me  that  I  was  a  good  boy  for — for  I 
reckon  as  much  as  two  weeks. 

Another  familiar  incident  of  these  early  days  in 
which  his  grandfather  figures  which  he  frequently 
tells  in  another  sermon  indicates  the  activities  of  the 
farm.  He  describes  it  as  follows: 

When  I  was  a  little  boy  my  grandfather  said 
to  me :  "Willie,  come  on,"  and  he  took  a  ladder, 
and  beeswax,  a  big  jack-knife,  a  saw  and  some 
cloth,  and  we  went  into  the  valley.  He  leaned  the 
ladder  to  a  sour  crab-apple  tree,  climbed  up  and 
sawed  off  some  of  the  limbs,  split  them  and  shoved 
in  them  some  little  pear  sprouts  as  big  as  my  finger 
and  twice  as  long,  and  around  them  he  tied  a 
string  and  put  in  some  beeswax.  I  said,  "Grandpa, 
what  are  you  doing?"  He  said,  "I'm  grafting  pear 
sprouts  into  the  sour  crab."  I  said,  "What  will 
grow  crab-apples  or  pears?"  He  said,  "Pears,  I 
3 


34  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

don't  know  that  I'll  ever  live  to  eat  the  pear — I 
hope  I  may — but  I  know  you  will."  I  lived  to  see 
those  sprouts  which  were  no  longer  than  my  finger 
grow  as  large  as  my  limb  and  I  climbed  the  tree 
and  picked  and  ate  the  pears.  He  introduced  a 
graft  of  another  variety  and  that  changed  the  nature 
of  the  tree. 

Shortly  after  he  left  the  asylum  young  Sunday 
came  to  Nevada,  Iowa,  where  he  was  given  a  home 
with  Colonel  John  Scott,  a  veteran  of  the  Union 
army,  who  at  one  time  served  his  state  as  lieutenant 
governor.  Colonel  Scott  was  a  breeder  of  Shetland 
ponies,  and  the  boy  helped  to  care  for  them  in  return 
for  his  board  and  clothes. 

Charles  H.  Hall,  mayor  of  Nevada,  and  one  of 
the  many  loyal  supporters  of  the  evangelist  in  that 
town,  is  always  glad  to  talk  of  the  man  who  has 
brought  fame  to  their  little  place.  In  a  letter  he  says : 

Bill  Sunday,  in  boyhood  days,  was  no  angel, 
but  was  a  good,  average,  energetic  boy.  He  was 
fond  of  all  kinds  of  sports.  He  had  a  record  of 
running  100  yards  in  10  seconds;  a  fine  swimmer, 
and  could  out-jump  any  of  the  other  boys.  Many 
people  here  insist  that  the  world  has  never  pro- 
duced as  good  a  ball-player.  His  position  was 
center  field.  He  was  a  sure  batter  and  a  good  base- 
runner.  What  was  a  one-base  hit  for  others,  was 
a  two-bagger  for  him.  In  a  game  at  Marshalltown, 
Iowa,  Captain  Anson,  from  Chicago,  saw  him  work 
and  took  him  back  with  him  to  Chicago,  where  he 
played  on  the  Chicago  team. 

Billy  liked  the  girls  and  was  a  favorite  among 
them.  He  was  popular  also  with  his  boy  associates. 
He  was  fair-minded,  and  never  stirred  up  strife. 
He  was  never  looking  for  trouble,  but  would  fight 


ORPHANED  SON  OF  AN   IOWA  PATRIOT  35 

at  the  drop  of  the  hat  if  imposed  upon.  He  dis- 
played no  traits  in  youth  of  becoming  the  preacher 
he  now  is. 

Finally  there  is  the  judgment  of  his  mother. 
After  more  than  50  years  acquaintance  with  the  man 
who  is  a  mystery  to  so  many  thousands,  Mrs.  W.  J. 
Stowe  gives  a  vivid  word  picture  of  the  boyhood  days 
of  the  evangelist,  coupled  invariably  with  the  loving 
comments  of  a  fond  mother. 

Whenever  one  speaks  of  her  evangelist  son  her 
face  lights  up  with  a  smile  and  she  invariably  re- 
marks : 

"Willie  is  a  good  boy.  He  was  always  so." 
If  one  continues  to  discuss  the  evangelist,  his 
mother  is  sure  to  tell  of  some  of  the  amusing 
incidents  that  happened  during  Willie's  boyhood, 
when  but  a  little  lad  he  ran  free  over  his  grand- 
father's farm  in  Story  county,  Iowa.  The  farm 
was  located  near  Ames,  not  far  from  the  agricul- 
tural school  of  that  name,  and  was  owned  by  the 
evangelist's  grandfather,  "Squire"  J.  E.  Cory,  who 
was  a  typical  pioneer  of  the  Middle  West.  "Squire" 
Cory,  until  a  year  before  his  death  at  the  age  of 
72,  never  thought  of  climbing  to  the  back  of  one  of 
his  horses  from  a  block,  but  instead  he  would  grasp 
the  pommel  and  leap  into  the  saddle  in  true 
western  fashion  without  touching  the  stirrup. 
According  to  his  mother,  Billy  was  the  pride  of  his 
grandfather's  heart  and  was  taught  many  of  his 
boyish  athletic  tricks  by  him.  When  but  a  mere 
baby  the  "Squire"  would  place  the  boy  upon  his 
outstretched  hand  and  raise  him  high  in  the  air. 
"Willie  would  just  stand  there  as  straight  as  an 
arrow  and  never  make  a  whimper,"  says  his  mother 
with  just  a  touch  of  pride  in  her  voice  when  she 
tells  about  it.  "He  was  a  great  favorite  with  his 
grandpa  because  he  was  such  an  active  little  chap." 


36  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

Since  the  time  the  evangelist  has  been  old 
enough  to  walk  he  has  been  fond  of  dogs.  His 
mother  tells  of  his  favorite  childhood  pet,  a  big 
shepherd  named  "Watch." 

"I  can  remember  when  Willie  used  to  go  to 
the  pasture  every  evening  for  me  and  bring  home 
the  cows,"  she  says.  "Seems  that  I  can  almost  see 
him  now,  coming  down  the  lane  astride  of  the  cows, 
whistling  or  singing,  while  Watch  took  care  to  see 
that  none  of  the  cattle  strayed  from  the  herd.  He 
surely  loved  that  dog  and  I  don't  hardly  think  that 
he  has  forgotten  his  old  playmate  yet,  although  he 
has  had  several  such  pets  since. 

"Yes,  Willie  was  always  a  good  boy  to  work. 
Did  you  ask  if  he  has  always  worked  like  he  does 
now?  I  guess  he  has.  When  just  a  boy  he  would 
go  after  things  pell-mell  and  it  seemed  that  he 
always  had  an  extra  supply  of  energy.  Some  might 
call  his  methods  nervousness  but  it  appears  to  me 
just  the  way  he  is  made  because  he  has  been  the 
same  ever  since  I  can  remember. 

"I  don't  think  Willie  shall  ever  have  what  you 
call  a  nervous  breakdown.  Even  though  he  works 
ever  so  hard  it  is  just  his  fashion  and  I  guess  he 
can  stand  it.  He  is  built  peculiarly,  that  is  why 
so  many  people  do  not  understand  him  when  they 
meet  or  watch  him.  At  times,  I  know  he  seems  to 
be  snappy,  but  it  is  his  style  when  he  is  busy  and  he 
has  no  idea  he  is  hurting  the  feelings  of  any  one. 
He  was  just  the  same  when  he  was  a  boy.  He 
always  put  his  whole  soul  into  everything  that  he 
did,  whether  it  was  work  or  play.  I  guess  that  is 
what  has  helped  to  make  him  the  man  he  is. 

"Willie  always  liked  to  play  games  where  he 
could  show  his  strength,  for  he  was  a  strong 
little  lad.  I  can  remember  that  many  times  before 
he  was  ten  years  old  he  would  go  down  to  the 
college  where  the  boys  were  playing  ball  and  get  in 
the  game  with  them.  I  guess  he  was  pretty  good 


ORPHANED   SON  OF  AN   IOWA  PATRIOT  37 

at  baseball  even  then.  After  his  grandfather  died 
he  and  Ed — Ed  is  his  brother  who  lives  out  in 
North  Dakota — went  to  school  at  Marshalltown. 
My,  but  I  missed  my  children  so  much. 

Their  father  had  died  during  the  civil  war 
while  serving  in  the  23d  Iowa  down  south,  and  he 
never  got  to  see  Willie.  His  name  was  Willie,  too, 
and  we  named  the  baby  for  him.  His  father  had 
always  liked  the  name  Ashley,  so  that  is  where 
Willie  got  his  middle  name." 

No  greatness  which  ever  comes  to  a  man  ever 
prevents  his  being  other  than  a  boy  in  the  sight  of 
his  mother.  Learned  dissertations  on  the  value  of 
Mr.  Sunday's  work;  arguments  about  his  theology; 
questions  about  his  methods  fail  to  cast  the  light  upon 
his  work  and  his  character  as  thoroughly  as  the  simple 
details  from  the  lips  of  his  mother  uttered  when  she 
was  well  past  70. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  BOY'S  STRUGGLE  UPWARDS 

The  country  school  house  —  Studies  liked  and  disliked  — 
Working  for  an  education  —  The  education  of  travel 
—  Brief  career  at  Northwestern  University — Ordina- 
tion as  minister  —  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  —  Di- 
versity of  the  man's  knowledge. 

39 


CHAPTER  III 


6EORGE  EBERS,  in  the  preface  to  his  great 
novel  "Homo  Sum"  adopts  the  old  Latin 
motto  "Nothing  That  Is  Human  Is  Foreign 
To  Me."  Thus  is  described  the  curriculum  of  the 
greatest  university  of  the  world  —  life  itself.  It  is 
in  this  university  that  W.  A.  Sunday  has  acquired 
his  Ph.  D.  and  L.  L.  D.,  and  in  that  capacity  he  holds 
fellowship  with  Abraham  Lincoln,  Dwight  L.  Moody, 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Guiseppe  Garibaldi  and  the 
many  others  whose  lives  shine  as  beacons  throughout 
the  realm  of  history.  Persistently  the  world's  inquiry 
of  a  man  who  has  achieved  is  —  what  was  his  educa- 
tion, thinking  to  learn  through  that  the  route  by  which 
he  blazed  his  way  to  an  eminence  which  makes  men 
marvel.  If  it  were  the  way,  and  not  the  man,  then 
all  who  tread  the  path  might  hope  to  reach  pre- 
eminence. 

History  will  not  endorse  this  philosophy.  It  is 
the  individual,  the  aspiring  soul,  the  endeavoring 
mind  which  grasps  each  problem  as  it  comes,  and 
solves  it;  which  wrestles  with  each  difficulty,  and 
throws  it;  which  ultimately  finds  itself  breathing 
in  the  rarified  air  which  God  has  ordained  for  the 
elect  of  history.  W.  A.  Sunday  is  authorized  to 
write  himself,  reverend,  an  ordained  minister  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  that  fact  alone  would  pre- 
suppose a  considerable  academic  career.  This  as- 

41 


42  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

sumption,  however,  does  violence  to  the  fact.  Few 
men  probably  ever  came  to  their  ordination  by  a  more 
peculiar  route  than  has  the  famous  baseball  evangelist. 
The  poverty  of  his  youth  and  the  early  life  in  the 
orphan  asylums  was  not  conducive  to  deep  learning 
or  profound  thinking,  however  intimately  it  might 
acquaint  him  with  the  joys  and  griefs  of  life.  The 
country  school  house  undoubtedly  gave  him  his  first 
rudiments  of  knowledge.  From  his  own  lips  there  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  he  was  in  no  ways 
a  remarkable  student: 

When  I  was  a  little  boy  out  in  Iowa,  he  says, 
at  the  end  of  the  term  of  school  it  was  customary 
for  the  teachers  to  give  us  little  cards,  with  a  hand 
in  one  corner  holding  a  scroll,  and  in  that  scroll  was 
a  place  to  write  the  name.  "Willie  Sunday,  good 
boy."  Willie  Sunday  never  got  hump-shouldered 
lugging  them  home,  I  can  tell  you.  I  never  car- 
ried off  the  champion  long-distance  belt  for  verse 
quoting,  either.  If  you  ever  saw  an  American  kid, 
I  was  one. 

Earlier  than  most  boys,  however,  he  became  con- 
vinced of  the  value  of  an  education,  and  by  work 
and  sacrifice,  he  made  possible  through  his  own 
efforts  what  school  training  he  received.  It  was  in  the 
late  seventies  according  to  Mr.  Hall,  of  Nevada,  Iowa, 
that  he  came  to  that  town  to  take  up  his  high  school 
studies,  having  prepared  himself  as  best  he  might  in 
the  country  schools  and  at  the  orphanages.  Mr.  Hall, 
is  authority  for  the  statement,  that  while  he  attended 
high  school  for  several  years,  he  did  not  graduate. 
It  was  while  pursuing  this  course  that  he  lived  with 


THE  BOY^S  STRUGGLE  UPWARDS  43 

Colonel  Scott,  and  by  working  for  him  earned  the 
privilege  of  going  to  school. 

According  to  the  evangelist,  his  choice  of  studies 
ran  to  geography  and  history.  "I  was  a  dunce  in 
arithmetic,"  he  says,  "and  grammer  was  not  my  long 
suit,  either." 

One  of  the  means  which  Sunday  employed  to  be- 
come self-supporting,  was  that  of  acting  as  janitor 
in  a  school  house.  It  was  in  this  capacity  that  an 
event  took  place  which  is  frequently  referred  to  by 
the  evangelist  in  his  sermons: 

I  was  working,  as  he  tells  it,  in  a  school  house 
where  I  went  to  school  when  a  boy  out  in  Iowa. 
I  received  the  enormous  sum  of  $25  per  month  for 
sweeping  out  the  building,  carrying  the  coal,  and 
having  the  title  of  janitor. 

One  day  I  went  up  to  the  bank  to  get  my 
check  cashed.  Another  fellow  was  standing  beside 
me  at  the  cashier's  window  and  we  both  shoved 
our  checks  in  at  the  same  time.  When  I  got  outside 
I  looked  at  the  roll  of  bills  in  my  hand  and  dis- 
covered that  I  had  $40,  just  $15  more  than  my  check 
called  for.  As  I  was  standing  in  the  middle  of 
the  sidewalk  debating  with  myself  what  to  do,  along 
came  a  friend  of  mine,  who  is  one  of  the  biggest 
lawyers  in  Kansas  City.  I  told  him  about  the 
extra  money  and  he  told  me  to  keep  it  and  nobody 
would  be  the  wiser.  Well,  I  did,  and  when  I  was 
converted  years  afterwards  the  first  thing  that  came 
to  my  mind  was  the  $15.  I  went  ahead  for  years 
until  finally  one  time  I  was  down  in  Terre  Haute 
with  Dr.  Chapman.  Every  time  I  got  down  to  pray, 
God  seemed  to  tap  me  on  the  shoulder  and  say, 
"Remember  the  15." 

Well,  one  night  I  went  up  to  my  room  in  the 
hotel  and  wrote  a  letter  to  that  bank  out  in  Iowa 


44  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

asking  if  the  accounts  at  that  time  had  come  out 
short,  and  explaining  that  it  was  Billy  Sunday  that 
•had  taken  the  $15  and  enclosed  the  money  with 
interest. 

From  an  unfinished  high  school  course  to  an 
ordained  minister  is  a  far  cry,  however,  and  there  was 
many  a  pungent  lesson  in  the  school  of  life  before 
this  first  acknowledgment  by  the  world  of  what  he 
was,  could  take  place.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
one  of  the  great  elements  of  his  success  has  been  the 
remarkable  familiarity  which  he  has  with  every  phase 
of  work-a-day  life. 

In  boyhood,  a  farmer;  in  youth,  a  care-taker  of 
animals,  and  apprenticed  to  a  worker  in  wood;  a 
professional  ball  player  before  he  was  20,  he  put 
in  the  time  between  seasons  in  a  variety  of  work 
which  kept  him  in  proper  form.  One  of  these  ex- 
periences was  that  of  fireman  on  what  is  now  the 
Chicago  and  Northwestern.  As  soon  as  he  became 
a  recognized  ball  player,  his  travels  naturally  took 
him  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  United  States 
and  afforded  him  the  privilege  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  a  great  many  varieties  of  people,  and  different 
phases  of  life  —  as  these  differentiated  themselves  in 
the  East  and  the  West,  and  the  North  and  the  South. 

His  next  effort  at  school  work,  however,  relates 
to  his  connection  with  the  Northwestern  University 
where  he  took  service  in  1887-1888  in  the  capacity  of 
baseball  coach.  Dr.  Nathan  Wilbur  Helm,  principal, 
Evanston  Academy,  says  of  the  evangelist: 

He  is  entered  on  our  books  as  William  Amos     .. 
Sunday,   but   Dr.   Fisk   says  he  is   the   same   man. 


THE  BOY'S  STRUGGLE  UPWARDS  45 

He  came  to  us  as  baseball  coach  and  was  here  only 
for  the  third  term  of  the  year  1887-88.  He  took 
work  here  called  "Rhetorical  Exercises,"  which  in- 
cluded elocution.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  who  his 
teacher  was,  because  this  was  rather  a  general 
public  exercise  in  which  students  were  required  to 
take  part  regularly,  but  were  not  under  the  charge 
of  any  one  teacher. 

I  regret  that  Mr.  Sunday  was  not  here  longer 
as  a  regular  student,  but  according  to  our  records, 
and  Dr.  Fisk's  statement,  the  facts  above  given 
apply  to  his  sojourn  here.  However,  I  feel  pleased 
that  he  was  here  even  in  that  capacity. 

Dr.  Fisk  says  that  Mr.  Sunday  had  been 
converted  at  that  time,  but  was  not  actively  in 
religious  work.  His  influence  on  the  ball  field  was 
excellent,  and  he  stopped  the  practice  of  swearing, 
which  had  gotten  to  be  somewhat  of  a  habit  with  a 
number  of  boys  on  the  team. 

More  baseball,  then  his  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  work,  and  finally  his  excursion  into  the 
evangelical  field  in  company  with  other  men  whose 
reputation  he  has  since  equaled  or  distanced,  and 
during  all  of  which  period  he  was  a  careful  student 
not  only  of  the  Bible,  but  of  current  literature  and 
everything  of  interest  which  came  his  way,  and  then 
he  was  ready  for  the  recognition  of  his  service  to  the 
church  in  general. 

Previous  to  his  ordination  Mr.  Sunday  had  been 
recognized  as  an  elder  in  the  Jefferson  Park  Presby- 
terian church,  which  he  had  joined  shortly  after  his 
marriage  to  Helen  M.  Thompson.  By  August  i,  1898, 
he  had  been  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  but  it  was 
not  until  1903  that  he  come  up  for  ordination.  In 
view  of  the  controversies  which  have  appeared  in 


46  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

some  sections  of  the  secular  press,  it  seems  expedient 
to  quote  directly  from  the  records  of  the  Chicago 
Presbytery,  dated  April  13,  1903.  This  shows : 

The  Committee  on  Education,  through  Rev. 
W.  S.  Plumer  Bryan,  chairman,  so  recommending, 
Mr.  William  A.  Sunday,  a  licentiate  of  Presbytery, 
desiring  to  enter  the  ministery,  was  examined  for 
ordination.  His  examiantion  being  sustained,  it 
was  ordered  that  when  Presbytery  adjourn  it  be  to 
meet  Wednesday,  April  15,  in  Jefferson  Park  church, 
for  the  purpose  of  his  ordination,  that  Rev.  J. 
Wilbur  Chapman,  of  Presbytery  of  New  York,  be 
requested  to  preach  the  sermon,  the  Moderator, 
Rev.  Joseph  A.  Vance,  to  preside,  propound  con- 
stitutional questions  and  offer  ordaining  prayer, 
and  Rev.  Alexander  Patterson  to  give  the  charge 
to  the  evangelist. 

Presbytery  met  pursuant  to  above  adjourn- 
ment, in  Jefferson  Park  church,  April  15,  8  p.  m., 
and  was  opened  with  prayer.  Present:  Ministers, 
Joseph  A.  Vance,  Moderator;  Frank  Dewitt  Tal- 
madge,  Alexander  Patterson ;  Elder  J.  Henry 
Bentz,  corresponding  member;  J.  Wilbur  Chapman, 
President,  New  York.  Rev.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman 
preached  sermon.  Rev.  J.  A.  Vance  propounded 
constitutional  questions  and  offered  prayer  of  or- 
dination. Rev.  Alexander  Patterson  gave  charge 
to  evangelist.  Adjourned  with  benediction  by  the 
newly  ordained  minister,  Rev.  W.  A.  Sunday. 

Attest,  James  Frothingham,  Stated  Clerk, 
Chicago  Presbytery. 

Mr.  Sunday  has  never  been  particular  about  be- 
ing called  Reverend.  Plain  "Bill"  or  "Billy"  is  the 
appellation  which  seems  to  be  dearest  to  his  heart. 
Still  less  is  he  inclined  to  use  the  title  Doctor  of 
Divinity,  which  is  the  last  honor  which  has  been  con- 
ferred upon  him  in  academic  circles.  He  holds  this 


THE  BOY'S  STRUGGLE  UPWARDS  47 

degree  from  Westminster  College  at  New  Wilmington, 
Pa.  Dr.  Robert  McWatty  Russell,  president  of  the 
college,  reports  that  Westminster  College  conferred 
the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  upon  Mr. 
Sunday  at  the  commencement  exercises  June  13,  1912. 
Dr.  Russell  says: 

Mr.  Sunday  was  not  able  to  be  present,  being 
engaged  in  evangelistic  services  at  Beaver  Falls,  so 
the  degree  was  conferred  in  absentia. 

We  count  it  to  the  honor  of  Westminster 
that  she  did  this  thing.  Dr.  Sunday  knows  his 
Bible,  which  is  the  true  body  of  divinity  in  theolog- 
ical lore.  Mr.  Sunday  has  devoted  his  life  to  the 
supreme  task  of  world  evangelization  for  which 
the  Bible  is  the  great  charter.  He  is,  therefore, 
both  in  scholarship  and  practical  effort  entitled  to 
the  degree.  Just  as  a  Doctor  of  Medicine  is  sup- 
posed to  know  the  Science  of  Medicine  and  practice 
the  art  of  healing,  so  a  Doctor  of  Divinity  who 
knows  the  truth  about  God  and  practices  the  art  of 
saving  is  entitled  to  the  degree.  In  many  institu- 
tions it  is  customary  to  bestow  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  upon  those  who  are 
men  noted  for  their  knowledge  of  "the  traditions 
of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees"  than  for  knowledge 
and  practical  use  of  the  Bible  itself. 

Patched  and  disjointed  as  are  these  efforts  at 
acquiring  the  knowledge  which  to  many  men  comes 
through  channels  so  simple  and  natural  that  they  are 
never  conscious  of  them,  they  afford  no  real  index  to 
the  attainment  or  the  ability  of  the  man.  Agriculture 
he  knows  as  well  as  most  farmers;  medicine  and  law 
he  can  discuss  freely  with  professionals.  Even  those 
preachers  who  find  that  he  is  not  profound  theolog- 
ically, do  not  say  that  he  is  not  sound.  Art  and 


48  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

science  he  knows  as  well  as  the  average  amateur. 
The  stars  are  not  unknown  to  him.  A  colossal  capac- 
ity for  figures  is  staggering  to  those  who  become  lost 
even  in  the  ordinary  intricacies  of  bookkeeping.  His 
reading  has  been  diversified  and  extremely  wide- 
spread. He  has  a  keen  knowledge  of  the  thing  that 
will  appeal  to  an  audience,  and  a  selective  spirit  which 
enables  him  to  judge  almost  intuitively  the  story,  the 
episode  or  the  comparison  which  will  most  readily 
appeal  to  his  hearers. 

During  the  course  of  his  campaigns  he  addresses 
in  one  day  the  society  women  of  the  city,  and  in  the 
same  half  day  the  convicts  of  the  penitentiary.  He 
dines  with  the  governor  of  the  state,  addresses  the 
legislature,  speaks  to  shopmen  in  large  factories  and 
is  ready  within  a  few  minutes  to  launch  upon  a  pro- 
found exposition  of  some  Bible  theme. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  hit  upon  a  subject  for 
conversation  where  he  is  not  better  informed  than  the 
average  person  and  at  least  able  to  discuss  intelligently 
with  those  who  have  specialized  in  that  line.  In  this 
respect  his  mind  shows  much  in  common  with  that 
of  the  great  Napoleon  whose  versatility  and  adapta- 
bility were  the  marvel  of  his  generation.  A  phenom- 
enal memory  has  been  of  material  assistance  in  the 
proper  use  of  his  diversified  knowledge.  He  calls  by 
name  readily  men  and  women  whom  he  has  not  seen 
for  years,  and  then  only  for  a  brief  period.  He  quotes 
verbatim  whole  passages  not  only  of  the  Scriptures 
but  of  the  English  classics,  and  reproduces,  with  ac- 
curacy, those  most  baffling  compilation  of  statistics, 
the  government  reports,  which  deal  with  labor,  agri- 
culture, commerce  and  the  traffic  of  the  world. 


- 


•f. 
c 

S! 


o 


CHAPTER  IV 


A  STAR  OF  THE  WHITE  SOX 

Philosophy  of  the  national  game  —  Billy  Sunday's  in- 
terest in  baseball  —  Sunday's  discovery  by  "Pop"  An- 
son  —  Reminiscences  from  one  who  knew  Sunday  on 
the  team  —  Sunday's  own  version  —  The  race  with 
Arlie  Latham  —  "Go"  with  H.  U.  Johnson  —  Still  an 
authority  on  baseball  —  A  veteran's  opinion. 

49 


CHAPTER  IV 


IN   defense  of  many  of  the  methods  of  modern 
evangelism    it    is    often    urged    that    when    the 
Savior  chose  his  disciples  he  called  Peter  from 
the  fish  nets,  and  Paul  from  his  job  as  tent  maker. 
In  a  word,  those  who  were  chosen  to  be  messengers 
of  the  new  salvation  were  of  the  people,  and  they 
preached  primarily  to  the  people.    In  varying  degrees 
this  has  been  true  of  all  great  evangelists  who  have 
achieved  an  acceptable  ranking  in  history. 

It  is  true  Luther  was  equipped  with  the  academic 
training  of  the  clergy  of  his  time,  but  his  life,  his 
habits  and  his  language  were  essentially  those  of  the 
common  people.  The  German  into  which  he  trans- 
lated the  Holy  Writ,  is  the  German  of  the  masses, 
and  on  his  authority  alone  against  all  lexicographers, 
there  are  German  expressions  sanctioned  which  do  not 
conform  to  the  ordinary  usages  of  good  German  dic- 
tion. Modern  evangelism  has  numerous,  if  not  such 
marked,  examples  of  the  same  truth. 

Nor  do  these  men  ever  shake  off  the  vernacular 
of  their  early  calling  and  association.  Human  nature 
is  so  constituted  that  that  which  smacks  of  the  soil, 
is  considered  to  smack  of  sincerity.  What  there  is 
about  studious  and  philosophical  preparation  that  robs 
the  masses  of  confidence  in  the  man,  who  uses  it,  it 
might  be  hard  to  explain.  The  fact  that  such  a  seem- 

51 


52  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

ing  prejudice  exists  is  too  well  known  to  any  who 
have  occasion  to  deal  with  the  masses  habitually. 

There  is  no  question  but  that  baseball  is  the  great 
American  game.  Its  appeal  is  to  thousands  where  the 
appeal  of  any  other  sport  is  to  hundreds.  It  is  dis- 
tinctively American.  Its  vigorous,  if  unschooled  ex- 
ertions typify  the  American  spirit,  restless  of  all  con- 
trol. Full  of  the  element  of  contest,  rapid  in  its  action, 
exhilarating  in  its  effect,  essentially  a  contest  in  every 
aspect,  the  game  is  a  reflex  of  the  national  life  of  to- 
day. 

Whether  or  not  an  All  Wise  Providence  gave 
thought  to  this  when  He  constituted  W.  A.  Sunday, 
His  messenger,  or  whether  mere  natural  causes  suffi- 
ciently account  for  the  bounding  popularity  of  the 
evangelist,  who  came  from  the  ranks  of  the  most 
popular  sport  in  America,  is  a  matter  for  speculation, 
the  outcome  of  which  is  of  no  particular  importance. 
Whether  a  coincidence  or  a  cause  leading  to  an  effect, 
is  immaterial.  The  facts  are  that  in  stepping  from 
a  baseball  team  to  the  rostrum  of  a  tabernacle  Mr. 
Sunday  achieved  a  feat  without  parallel  in  modern 
history,  but  quite  in  keeping  with  the  best  traditions 
of  the  calling  he  espouses. 

It  is  not  of  record  that  the  evangelist  cherished 
any  youthful  ambition  to  shine  upon  the  baseball  field. 
Rather  it  is  probable  that  baseball  meant  to  him  what 
it  means  to  most  healthy  boys,  a  pleasant  sport  and  an 
agreeable  means  by  which  they  may  express  their 
energy.  A  hardy  and  lithe  form  inherited  from 
generations  of  those  who  had  tilled  the  soil,  coupled 
with  an  indomitable  desire  to  excel  in  whatever  line 
pf  endeavor  he  entered  are  sufficient  grounds  upon 


A  STAR  OF  THE  WHITE  SOX  53 

which  to  explain  the  remarkable  career  which  he  en- 
joyed in  his  early  youth.  His  history  is  peculiar  only 
in  that  he  had  come  to  extraordinary  fame  in  his 
baseball  work  before  he  took  up  what  has  proved  to 
be  his  life  activity. 

The  discovery  of  Billy  Sunday  on  a  back  lot  in 
Marshalltown,  Iowa,  by  A.  C.  Anson,  popularly  known 
as  "Captain"  Anson,  or  "Pop"  Anson,  is  baseball  tradi- 
tion. It  has  been  the  remark  of  sporting  editors  that 
Billy  Sunday  never  worked  in  a  "brush"  league,  but 
stepped  full  fledged,  a  star,  into  the  arena  of  the 
national  game  when  he  became  a  member  of  the  White 
Sox  team  in  1883.  Sunday  remained  with  the  Chicago 
organization  for  five  years,  and  for  all  that  time  head- 
ing the  batting  order  he  played  either  right  or  center 
field.  From,  Chicago  at  the  end  of  five  years  Sunday 
went  to  Pittsburgh,  and  later  on  to  Philadelphia. 

More  than  20  years  of  active  work  in  promulgat- 
ing the  gospel  has  not  cooled  the  ardor  of  his  en- 
thusiasm for  the  national  game,  nor  abated  one  jot 
or  tittle  the  friendship  he  feels  for  the  men  who  are 
still  keeping  it  before  the  public,  or  for  the  older 
fellows  who  have  had  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the 
younger  generation.  Baseball  and  baseball  lingo  are 
a  concomitant  part  and  attractive  feature  of  many  of 
his  best  known  sermons.  A  hearty  welcome  and  an 
opportunity  for  a  chat  is  always  afforded  those  who 
come  to  discuss  old  times,  or  the  changes  in  the  game 
as  it  is  played  today. 

A  man  whose  experience  would  fill  volumes  and 
whose  career  is  brilliant  with  many  exceptional 
achievements  in  other  lines,  the  magazines  still  turn 
to  him  for  articles  on  baseball,  and  he  is  regularly 


54  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

quoted  as  an  authority  on  many  phases  of  the  subject. 
Everywhere  that  Mr.  Sunday  goes  in  the  furtherance 
of  his  evangelical  campaigns,  he  meets  with  many  who 
recall  his  White  Sox  days  and  not  infrequently  these 
form  a  nucleus  of  the  subsequent  crowds  which  rally 
to  his  support.  As  a  unit  these  men  insist  that  Sunday 
was  a  great  baseball  player.  Most  pertinent  to  quote, 
however,  is  his  brother-in-law,  Wm.  J.  Thompson, 
who  as  a  boy  traveled  with  the  Chicago  team,  and 
who  took  more  than  a  boy's  interest  in  the  courtship 
between  Mr.  Sunday  and  Miss  Thompson,  which  was 
in  progress  at  the  time.  Mr.  Thompson  in  a  recent 
interview  thus  outlined  his  brother-in-law's  baseball 
career : 

He  certainly  was  a  punk  hitter,  but  on  the 
bases  he  was,  by  all  odds,  the  fastest  man  in  the 
big  league.  Did  you  know  that  Billy  was  the  first 
man  in  this  country  to  run  a  100  yards  in  10 
seconds  flat?  I  saw  him  do  it.  At  the  time  it  was 
considered  a  marvelous  thing  and  Billy  got  national 
prominence  as  a  result.  Everybody  on  the  team 
always  worked  to  get  Billy  on  the  bases  because 
they  knew  that  if  he  once  got  to  first  he  was  almost 
certain  to  score. 

As  a  base-stealer  Billy  didn't  have  a  rival. 
Just  as  Ty  Cobb  is  the  terror  to  present-day  catchers, 
Billy  was  the  terror  in  his  day.  I've  seen  him  many 
a  time  start  to  slide  into  the  bases  when  he  would 
be  20  feet  away,  and  nine  times  out  of  ten  he'd 
make  it.  All  the  spectators  would  see  would  be  a 
cloud  of  dust.  Billy  was  such  a  twister  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  for  a  baseman  to  get  the  ball  on 
him. 

Billy  played  in  the  field  and,  believed  me,  he 
could  cover  a  lot  of  ground,  too.  In  those  days 
Billy  was  the  same  good  fellow  that  he  is  today, 


A  STAR  OF  THE  WHITE  SOX  55 

only  he  hadn't  got  religion.  He  was  a  favorite 
with  everybody  on  the  club,  and  especially  with  the 
fans.  He  was  a  great  "kidder,"  too,  and  no  matter 
what  they  hurled  at  him  from  the  stands,  he  came 
right  back  at  'em  with  a  still  hotter  one.  Maybe 
you've  noticed  he's  some  talker  today. 

Mr.  Sunday's  own  version  of  his  work  and  his 
success  in  it  does  not  materially  differ  from  that  of 
Mr.  Thompson: 

1  never  was  an  extra  heavy  batter,  he  says, 
but  I  used  to  strike  around  250  or  300  in  the 
batting  percentage.  Where  I  excelled  was  in  speed, 
and  I  always  led  the  batting  order,  because  I  was 
a  dangerous  man  to  have  on  bases  with  heavy 
batters  behind  me. 

Of  Mr.  Sunday's  agility,  there  seems  to  be  no 
shadow  of  a  doubt.  Current  sporting  writers  compare 
him  to  Ty  Cobb  and  others  in  the  limelight  at  the 
present  moment.  He  is  given  credit  for  establishing 
the  mark  of  encircling  the  bases  from  a  standing  start 
in  14  seconds,  an  achievement  calculated  to  try  the 
wind  and  limb  of  the  most  perfect  athlete.  One  base- 
ball writer  says: 

He  probably  caused  more  wide  throws  than 
any  other  player  the  game  has  ever  known,  because 
of  his  specialty  of  "going  down  to  first"  like  a 
streak  of  greased  electricity.  When  he  hit  the  ball, 
infielders  yelled,  "Hurry  it  up!"  The  result  was 
that  they  often  threw  'em  away.  He  was  ac- 
knowledged champion  sprinter  of  the  National 
League.  This  led  to  a  match  race  once  with  Arlie 
Latham,  who  held  like  honors  in  the  American. 
Billy  won  by  15  feet— and  with  $75,000  of  Chicago 
money  up  on  the  race. 


56  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

More  than  the  contest  with  speed,  however,  in 
this  particular  instance,  was  a  contest  that  went  on 
within  the  breast  of  the  young  baseball  star,  who  at 
the  time  had  been  recently  converted.  At  a  luncheon 
tendered  to  him  in  one  of  the  clubs  at  Columbus,  Mr. 
Sunday  gave  his  own  version  of  the  race  with  Arlie 
Latham  : 

"When  I  played  ball  I  could  outrun  any  man 
in  the  National  League,"  he  said.  Arlie  Latham 
could  do  the  same  in  the  American  League,  so  we 
fixed  it  up  to  have  a  race  one  Sunday  afternoon. 
But  in  the  meantime  I  got  converted.  I  went  to 
Cap  Anson  and  said :  "Cap,  I  can't  do  it.  I'm 
converted  and  I  can't  run  that  race  on  Sunday." 
Cap  said  to  me,  "Bill,  don't  show  the  white 
feather.  We've  got  $12,000  bet  on  you  and  all  the 
boys  have  bet  their  last  cent  on  you.  If  you  don't 
win  that  race  they'll  have  to  eat  snowballs  next 
winter.  You  go  down  to  St.  Louis  and  run  that 
race  and  fix  it  up  with  God  afterwards." 

Well,  I  ran  the  race  and  I  beat  Latham  by  15 
feet  and  came  home  with  my  pockets  full  of  money. 
I  then  went  before  the  presbytery  and  told  'em 
all  and  stuck  to  the  church,  and  after  eight  years 
they  ordained  me  as  a  minister.  And  then  the 
other  day  Westminster  gave  me  an  honorary  "D.  D." 
Say,  that's  going  some  for  an  old  sport  that's  never 
seen  the  inside  of  a  college,  isn't  it? 

Another  speed  contest  which  attracted  national 
attention  at  the  time  was  an  unexpected  "go"  with 
H.  U.  Johnson,  a  man  very  well  known  in  his  day. 
As  the  South  Bend  Tribune  tells  it: 

In  the  spring  of  1887,  without  any  special 
training  or  previous  experience  in  that  specific 


Too  HOT  TO  HANDLE. 


A  STAR  OF  THE  WHITE  SOX  57 

athletic  line,  without  practice  in  quick-starting  and 
without  words  of  encouragement  from  friends  to 
spur  him  on,  Sunday  came  within  an  ace  of  lowering 
the  colors  of  H.  U.  Johnson,  who  at  that  time  was 
heralded  as  the  fastest  runner  of  the  day. 

Sunday  accepted  a  challenge,  left  the  diamond 
for  the  day,  donned  a  track  suit,  dug  his  spikes 
into  the  sands  of  the  track  at  Chicago  beach,  on 
Lake  Michigan,  and  raced  Johnson,  who  was  in  the 
pink  of  condition,  and  who  had  just  returned  from 
capturing  the  Sheffield  championship  in  England. 

We  started  off  like  a  shot,  said  Sunday  while 
in  a  reminiscent  mood  the  other  day.  I  was  used 
to  speedy  work  on  the  diamond  but  not  on  a 
straight  track.  I  led  Johnson  for  80  yards,  and 
then  he  began  to  crawl  up  on  me.  Everything 
blurred  before  me.  The  crowd  seemed  to  swim 
before  my  eyes  as  I  ran,  but  I  could  see  the  finish 
line  getting  nearer  and  nearer.  The  distance  was 
100  yards.  Johnson  and  I  neared  the  line  neck- 
and-neck.  He  ran  lower  than  I  did  and  breasted 
the  tape  just  six  inches  ahead  of  me  and  won. 

The  timers  had  six  watches  on  us.  Three 
caught  us  at  10  seconds  flat  and  three  at  9  4/5 
seconds.  After  the  race  Johnson  turned,  grasped 
my  hand  and  told  me  that  in  two  weeks'  time  he 
could  train  me  so  that  I  could  beat  him  by  five  feet 
with  but  a  little  training.  I  said  "nothing  doing," 
though,  and  went  back  to  the  diamond  and  played. 

Quoting  from  another  article: 

Sunday  probably  has  the  longest  lower  leg, 
that  is,  from  the  knee  to  the  foot,  of  any  man  ever 
seen  in  this  city.  It  has  powerful  bulging  muscles 
near  the  knee,  tapering  down  to  actual  thinness  near 
the  ankle,  a  runner's  foot  in  every  particular. 

At  Steubenville,  when  the  national  championships 
were  drawing  to  a  crisis,  Sunday  could  not  refrain 


58  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

from  making  a  comparison  with  the  ball  players  of 
his  day.  The  conversation  is  typical,  in  that  it  dis- 
plays the  loyalty  of  the  man,  both  to  his  past  associates 
and  to  the  calling  in  which  he  first  won  recognition. 
The  interview  says: 

You  can  talk  about  Ty  Cobb,  Tris  Speaker, 
Lajoie,  and  all  the  others,  but  there  isn't  a  man 
that  has  ever  come  up  to  Cap  Anson  as  a  batter, 
says  Evangelist  Billy  Sunday.  Cap  could  swing  on 
that  ball — my,  how  he  could  swing ! — and  you  could 
never  tell  where  he  would  send  it.  He  could  give  a 
terrific  swat  and  there  isn't  a  batter  today  that  can 
surpass  him. 

And  as  to  pitchers,  John  Clarkson  topped  them 
all.  John  was  the  only  man  I  ever  saw  who  would 
throw  overhanded  and  make  the  ball  go  down  and 
then  up.  He  used  to  wear  his  finger  nails  down  to 
the  quick  in  throwing  that  ball  and  would  have  his 
fingers  and  the  ball  covered  with  blood. 

And  some  of  you  fellows  talk  about  the 
"squeeze  play"  and  other  new  plays  of  the  diamond. 
Bah !  We  used  to  make  those  same  plays  25  years 
ago,  only  we  didn't  have  any  fancy  names  for  them. 
Four  times  that  I  know  of  I  scored  from  second 
base  on  an  infield  hit. 

No,  sir.  We  didn't  wear  any  gloves  in  those 
days.  You  say:  "Oh,  the  ball  must  have  been 
softer."  Let  me  tell  you  it  was  hard  then  as  it  is 
today  and  they  used  to  shoot  'em  over  just  as 
swiftly,  too.  My,  how  Clarkson,  McCormick, 
"Long"  John  Whitney,  Amos  Rusie,  Charles  Rad- 
bourne  and  those  fellows  could  send  the  ball  over 
the  plate. 

But  you  know  in  those  days  fouls  did  not 
count  as  strikes.  Mike  Kelley  was  really  respon- 
sible for  the  present  rule.  Mike  would  stand  up  at 
the  plate  and  sometimes  foul  off  20  balls  before  he 


A  STAR  OF  THE  WHITE  SOX  59 

would  hit  safely.  It  became  an  art  and  he'd  get 
the  pitcher  tired.  He  would  stand  at  the  plate  all 
day  if  they  hadn't  made  the  new  rule  on  foul. 

It  was  during  his  career  as  a  baseball  player  that 
Mr.  Sunday  was  converted  at  the  Pacific  Garden  Mis- 
sion in  Chicago,  under  the  ministration  of  Harry  Mon- 
roe. Naturally  this  event  made  a  decided  change  in 
his  life,  and  while,  by  his  own  confession,  he  was 
somewhat  given  to  excesses  in  his  earlier  day,  it  is 
interesting  to  know  that  in  a  general  way  his  character 
and  his  habits  were  of  a  good  order.  He  was  esteemed 
by  all  who  knew  him.  That  their  standards  of  life 
were  not  the  standards  of  leaders  in  ethical  thought 
is  a  criticism  of  present-day  society,  and  not  of  the 
man.  In  this  connection  it  is  worth  while  to  quote 
Mr.  Frank  C.  Richter,  editor  of  Sporting  Life, 
probably  the  best  known  publication  of  its  class  in  this 
country.  Mr.  Richter  says: 

I  never  had  the  pleasure  of  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  Mr.  Sunday,  and  therefore  cannot  speak 
with  the  authority  of  intimate  knowledge  of  his 
personality  or  character.  But  I  never  heard  any- 
thing but  good  of  him  from  those  who  knew  him 
or  associated  with  him.  He  stood  high  with  his 
teammates,  and  that  is  a  splendid  credential  in  my 
opinion,  as  no  hypocrite  could  associate  long  with 
ball  players  without  being  unmasked  and,  per  con- 
sequence, being  treated  with  merited  contempt,  and 
perhaps  let  severely  alone  by  a  class  never  chary  in 
expression  of  their  views  of  men  and  things  and 
endowed  with  little  reverence,  as  a  rule. 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  MEMORABLE  NIGHT  IN  VAN  BUREN 
STREET 

Religious  antecedents  of  the  evangelist  —  An  emotional 
nature  —  Baseball  and  religion  —  Mr.  Sunday's  own 
story  of  his  conversion  at  Pacific  Garden  Mission  in 
Chicago  —  The  resolutions  that  followed. 

61 


CHAPTER  V 


CHE  great  transformations  in  the  lives  of  men 
conspicuous  in  the  affairs  of  the  world  are 
always  a  subject  of  exceptional  interest.  Each 
man  looks  at  them  in  the  light  of  his  own  philosophy 
of  living.  Few  men  have  come  to  great  prominence 
in  the  world  without  having  some  date  or  event  set  out 
that  transcended  with  vividness  from  the  rest  of  their 
lives.  Particularly  is  this  true  of  the  great  men  in 
the  world  of  religion.  Occasionally  one  will  find  a 
great  divine  who  says  of  himself :  "I  do  not  remember 
when  I  was  converted."  Even  these  rare  incidents 
are  usually  found  in  families  which  for  generations 
have  led  not  only  godly  lives,  but  lives  actively  de- 
voted to  the  advancement  of  religious  work. 

No  such  lack  of  certainty  concerns  the  life  of 
Mr.  Sunday.  A  definite  Sunday  night  in  the  fall  of 
1887  stands  out  vividly  in  his  recollections  over  all 
the  other  nights  of  his  life.  That  event  has  been  the 
subject  of  one  of  the  greatest  sermons  the  evangelist 
ever  delivers.  It  has  been  heard  in  more  than  100 
cities,  twice  that  number  of  newspapers  have  printed 
it,  and  yet  it  thrills  each  time  with  a  sense  of  newness 
and  truth  that  makes  a  profound  impression  on  all 
who  sit  beneath  its  spell. 

Mr.  Sunday's  mother  was  a  Methodist.  As  a 
boy  he  had  been  schooled  in  the  usages  of  that  church. 
Students  of  cause  and  effect  may  like  to  ascribe  the 

63 


64  REV.    1ULLY    SUNDAY 

remarkable  transformation  in  life  which  took  place 
at  the  age  of  24  as  based  upon  this  antecedent. 
There  is  none  who  can  deny  them  the  right  to  that 
opinion,  although  it  will  not  be  the  one  generally  ac- 
cepted. "Mr.  Sunday's  mother  was  a  Corey,"  writes 
a  friend  of  the  family,  "and  emotionalism  was  a  prom- 
inent trait  in  their  make-up."  In  this  fact  others  will 
find  a  reason  for  what  transpired  on  the  memorable 
night  in  Van  Buren  street,  Chicago,  Illinois.  But  here 
again  no  sufficient  reason  is  forthcoming  to  account 
exactly  for  what  took  place  when  it  did.  No  one 
who  examines  the  facts  from  without  can  hope  to 
have  the  knowledge  that  comes  from  a  survey  within. 
No  philosophical  disputation  could  add  any  truth  to 
the  statement  as  the  evangelist  himself  has  outlined 
it,  and  certainly  none  could  be  put  so  forcefully. 

Mr.  Sunday  stands  today  an  ordained  minister 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  emotionalism  is  not 
essentially  a  Presbyterian  trait.  True  to  the  earliest 
influences  of  his  home,  he  exemplifies  the  benefit  of 
his  mother's  church,  the  foundation  of  which  were 
laid  in  evangelism.  At  the  time  of  his  conversion. 
Mr.  Sunday  had  been  a  baseball  player  of  national 
reputation  for  four  years ;  he  was  in  receipt  of  a  salary 
which  at  the  time  was  considered  very  large.  As  life 
goes,  for  men  of  that  class,  success  and  whatever  hap- 
piness that  is  supposed  to  bring  with  it  was  already 
his.  Nothing  that  life  in  future  years  has  brought 
him  has  ever  caused  him  to  deprecate  his  earlier  call- 
ing and  his  associates.  Without  being  blinded  to  their 
faults,  he  has  always  had  for  them  the  greatest  charity. 

The  life  of  a  baseball  player  is  in  no  sense  cal- 
culated to  induce  religious  reflection.  Its  practices 


BILLY  SUNDAY  IN  THE  Box. 


MEMORABLE  NIGHT  IN  VAN  BUREN  STREET          65 

are  not  consistent  with  any  particular  church  life.  It 
is  not  to  be  presumed,  therefore,  that  the  conversion 
of  the  baseball  player  —  Billy  Sunday  —  was  predi- 
cated upon  his  previous  religious  activities  other  than 
that  of  his  very  early  home  days.  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  persons  have  heard  him  tell  the  story,  and 
dozens  of  men  have  attempted  to  write  it,  but  none 
have  achieved  an  approximation  of  success  when  he 
has  departed  in  any  way  from  a  verbatim  report.  As 
Mr.  Sunday  tells  the  story: 

Twenty-six  years  ago  I  walked  down  a  street 
in  Chicago  in  company  with  some  ball  players  who 
were  famous  in  this  world — some  of  them  are  dead 
now — and  we  went  into  a  saloon.  It  was  Sunday 
afternoon  and  we  got  tanked  up,  and  then  went  and 
sat  down  on  a  corner.  I  never  go  by  that  place  but 
I  pray.  It  is  Van  Buren  street,  Chicago. 

As  I  said,  we  walked  on  down  the  street  to  the 
corner.  It  was  a  vacant  lot  at  that  time.  We  sat 
down  on  the  curbing.  Across  the  street  a  company 
of  men  and  women  were  playing  on  instruments — 
horns,  flutes  and  slide  trombones — and  the  others 
were  singing  the  gospel  hymns  that  I  used  to  hear 
my  mother  sing  back  in.  the  log  cabin  in  Iowa, 
and  back  in  the  old  church  where  I  used  to  go  to 
Sunday  school. 

And  God  painted  on  the  canvas  of  my  memory 
a  vivid  picture  of  the  scenes  of  other  days  and  other 
faces.  Many  have  long  since  turned  to  dust.  I 
sobbed  and  sobbed  and  a  young  man  stepped  out 
and  said :  "We  are  going  down  to  the  Pacific  Gar- 
den Mission;  won't  you  come  down  to  the  mission? 
I  am  sure  you  will  enjoy  it.  You  can  hear  drunk- 
ards tell  how  they  have  been  saved  and  girls  tell 
how  they  have  been  saved  from  the  red  light 
district." 

£    H5 


66  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

I  arose  and  said  to  the  boys :  "I'm  through. 
We've  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ways,"  and  I 
turned  my  back  on  them.  Some  of  them  laughed 
and  some  of  them  mocked  me ;  one  of  them  gave 
me  encouragement;  others  never  said  a  word. 

Twenty-six  years  ago  I  turned  and  left  that 
little  group  on  the  corner  of  State  and  Madison 
streets,  walked  to  the  little  mission,  went  on  my 
knees  and  staggered  out  of  sin  and  into  the  arms 
of  the  Savior. 

I  went  over  to  the  West  Side  of  Chicago 
where  I  was  keeping  company  with  a  girl,  now  my 
wife,  Nell.  I  married  Nell.  She  was  a  Presby- 
terian, so  I  am  a  Presbyterian.  Had  she  been  a 
Catholic  I  would  have  been  a  Catholic — because  I 
was  hot  on  the  trail  of  Nell. 

The  next  day  I  had  to  go  out  to  the  ball  park 
and  practice.  Every  morning  at  10  o'clock  we  had 
to  be  out  there  and  practice.  I  never  slept  that 
night.  I  was  afraid  of  the  horse-laugh  that  gang 
would  give  me  because  I  had  taken  my  stand  for 
Jesus  Christ. 

I  walked  down  to  the  old  ball  grounds.  I 
will  never  forget  it.  I  slipped  my  key  into  the 
wicket  gate,  and  the  first  man  to  meet  me  after  I 
got  inside  was  Mike  Kelley. 

Up  came  Mike  Kelley.  He  said :  "Bill,  I'm 
proud  of  you.  Religion  is  not  my  long  suit,  but  I'll 
help  you  all  I  can."  Up  came  Anson,  Pfeffer, 
Clarkson,  Flint,  Jimmy  McCormick,  Burns,  William- 
son and  Dalrymple.  There  wasn't  a  fellow  in  that 
gang  who  knocked ;  every  fellow  had  a  word  of 
encouragement  for  me. 

That  afternoon  we  played  the  old  Detroit  club. 
We    were    neck-and-neck    for    the    championship. 
That  club  had  Thompson,  Richardson,  Rowe,  Dun- 
lap,  Hanlon  and  Bennett,  and  they  could  play  ball. 

I  was  playing  right-field  and  John  G.  Clarkson 
was  pitching.  He  was  as  fine  a  pitcher  as  ever 
crawled  into  a  uniform.  There  are  some  pitchers 


MEMORABLE  NIGHT  IN  VAN  BUREN  STREET          67 

today — O'Toole,  Bender,  Wood,  Mathewson,  John- 
son, Marquard,  but  I  do  not  believe  any  one  of  them 
stood  in  the  class  with  Clarkson. 

We  had  two  men  out  and  they  had  a  man  on 
second  and  one  on  third,  and  Bennett,  their  old 
catcher,  was  at  the  bat.  Charley  had  three  balls  and 
two  strikes  on  him.  Charley  couldn't  hit  a  high 
ball — I  don't  mean  a  Scotch  highball — but  he  could 
kill  them  when  they  went  about  his  knee. 

I  hollered  to  Clarkson  and  said :  "One  more 
and  we  got  'em." 

You  know  every  pitcher  digs  a  hole  in  the 
ground  where  he  puts  his  foot  when  he  is  pitching. 
John  stuck  his  foot  in  the  hole  and  he  went  clear 
to  the  ground.  Oh,  he  could  make  them  dance. 
He  could  throw  overhanded  and  the  ball  would  go 
down  and  up  like  that.  He  is  the  only  man  on 
earth  I  have  seen  do  that.  That  ball  would  go  by 
so  fast  that  a  thermometer  would  drop  two  degrees. 
John  went  clear  down,  and  as  he  went  to  throw  the 
ball  his  right  foot  slipped  and  the  ball  went  low 
instead  of  high.  I  saw  Charley  swing  hard  and 
heard  the  bat  hit  the  ball  with  a  terrific  blow. 
Bennett  had  smashed  the  ball  on  the  nose.  I  saw 
the  ball  rise  in  the  air  and  knew  it  was  going  clear 
over  my  head.  I  could  judge  within  10  feet  of 
where  the  ball  would  light.  I  turned  my  back  to 
the  ball  and  ran. 

The  field  was  crowded  with  people  and  I 
yelled :  "Stand  back !"  and  that  crowd  opened  like 
the  Red  Sea  opened  for  the  rod  of  Moses.  I  ran  on, 
and  as  I  ran  I  made  a  prayer ;  it  wasn't  theological, 
either,  I  tell  you  that.  I  said :  "God,  if  you  ever 
helped  mortal  man,  help  me  get  that  ball,  and  y©u 
haven't  very  much  time  to  make  up  your  mind, 
either."  I  ran  and  jumped  over  the  bench  and 
stopped.  I  thought  I  was  close  enough  to  catch  it. 
I  looked  back  and  saw  it  going  over  my  head,  and 
I  jumped  and  shoved  my  left  hand  out  and  the  ball 
hit  it  and  stuck.  At  the  rate  I  was  going,  the  mo- 


68  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

mentum  carried  me  on  and  I  fell  under  the  feet 
of  a  team  of  horses.  I  jumped  up  with  the  ball  in 
my  hand.  Up  came  Tom  Johnson.  He  was  after- 
wards mayor  of  Cleveland.  "Here  is  $10,  Bill ;  buy 
yourself  the  best  hat  in  Chicago.  That  catch  won 
me  $1500.  Tomorrow  go  and  buy  yourself  the  best 
suit  of  clothes  you  can  find  in  Chicago." 

An  old  Methodist  minister  said  to  me  a  few 
years  ago :  "Why,  William,  you  didn't  take  the  $10, 
did  you?"  I  said,  "You  bet  I  did." 

Listen !  Mike  Kelley  was  sold  to  Boston  for 
$10,000.  He  came  up  to  me  and  showed  me  a  check 
for  $5,000.  John  L.  Sullivan,  the  champion  fighter, 
went  around  with  a  subscription  paper  and  the 
boys  raised  over  $12,000  to  buy  Mike  a  house.  They 
gave  Mike  a  deed  to  the  house  and  they  had  $1,500 
left  and  gave  him  a  certificate  of  deposit  for  that. 
His  salary  for  playing  with  Boston  was  $4,700  a 
year.  At  the  end  of  that  season  Mike  had  spent  the 
$5,000  purchase  price  and  the  $5,000  he  received  as 
salary  and  the  $1,500  they  gave  him  and  had  a 
mortgage  on  the  house.  And  when  he  died  in 
Pennsylvania  they  went  around  with  a  subscription 
to  get  money  enough  to  put  him  in  the  ground. 
Mike  sat  there  on  the  corner  with  me  26  years  ago 
when  I  said :  "Good-bye,  boys,  I'm  through." 

A.  G.  Spalding  signed  up  a  team  to  go  around 
the  world.  I  was  the  first  man  he  asked  to  sign  a 
contract  and  Capt.  Anson  was  the  second.  I  was 
sliding  to  second  base  one  day.  I  always  slid  head 
first  and  I  hit  a  stone  and  cut  a  ligament  loose  in 
my  knee.  I  got  a  doctor  and  had  my  leg  fixed  up, 
and  he  said  to  me:  "William,  if  you  don't  go  on 
that  trip  I  will  give  you  a  good  leg."  I  obeyed 
and  I  have  as  good  a  leg  today  as  I  ever  had.  They 
offered  to  wait  for  me  at  Honolulu  and  Australia. 
Spalding  said :  "Meet  us  in  England  and  play  with 
us  through  England,  Scotland  and  Wales."  I  did 
not  go. 


MEMORABLE  NIGHT  IN  VAN  BUREN  STREET          69 

Ed.  Williamson,  our  old  shortstop,  was  a 
fellow  weighing  225  pounds,  and  a  more  active 
man  you  never  saw.  He  went  with  them,  and 
while  they  were  on  the  ship  crossing  the  English 
Channel  a  storm  arose.  The  captain  thought  the 
ship  would  go  down.  Then  he  dropped  on  his  knees 
and  promised  God  to  be  true  and  God  spoke  and 
the  waves  were  still.  They  came  back  to  the  United 
States  and  Ed.  came  back  to  Chicago  and  started 
a  saloon  on  Dearborn  street.  I  would  go  there 
giving  tickets  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  meetings  and 
would  talk  with  him,  and  he  would  cry  like  a  baby. 
I  would  get  down  and  pray  for  him.  When  he  died 
they  put  him  on  the  table  and  cut  him  open  and 
took  out  his  liver.  It  was  so  big  it  would  not  go 
in  a  candy  bucket.  Ed  Williamson  sat  there  on  the 
street  corner  with  me  26  years  ago  when  I  said 
Good-bye  boys,  I'm  through. 

Frank  Flint,  our  old  catcher,  who  caught  for 
19  years,  drew  $3,200  a  year  on  an  average.  He 
caught  before  they  had  chest  protectors  and  masks 
and  gloves.  He  caught  bare-handed.  Every  bone 
in  the  ball  of  his  hand  was  broken.  You  never  saw 
a  hand  like  Frank  had.  Every  bone  in  his  face  was 
broken  and  his  nose  and  cheekbones,  and  the 
shoulder  and  ribs  had  all  been  broken. 

I've  seen  old  Frank  Flint  sleeping  on  a  table 
in  a  stale  beer  joint  and  I've  turned  my  pockets 
inside  out  and  said :  "You're  welcome  to  it,  old 
pal."  He  drank  on  and  on,  and  one  day  in  winter 
he  staggered  out  of  a  stale  beer  joint  and  stood  on  a 
corner  and  was  seized  with  a  fit  of  coughing.  The 
blood  streamed  out  of  his  nose,  his  mouth  and  his 
eyes.  Down  the  street  came  a  woman.  She  took 
one  look  and  said:  "My  God,  is  it  you,  Frank?" 
and  the  old  love  came  back. 

She  called  two  policemen  and  a  cab  and  started 
with  him  to  her  boarding  house.  They  broke  all 
speed  regulations.  She  called  five  of  the  best 
physicians  and  they  listened  to  the  beating  of  his 


70  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

heart — one,  two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven,  eight, 
nine,  ten,  eleven,  twelve,  thirteen,  fourteen — and  the 
doctor  said:  "He  will  be  dead  in  about  four 
hours."  She  said  :  "Frank,  the  end  is  near."  And 
he  said:  "Send  for  Bill." 

They  telephoned  me  and  I  came.  When  I 
reached  his  bedside  he  said  to  me :  "There's  noth- 
ing in  the  life  of  years  ago  I  care  for  now.  I  can 
hear  the  grandstand  hiss  when  I  strike  out.  I  can 
hear  the  bleachers  cheer  when  I  make  a  hit  that  wins 
the  game;  but  this  is  nothing  that  can  help  me 
out  now,  and  if  the  Umpire  calls  me  out  now, 
won't  you  say  a  few  words  over  me,  Bill?" 

He  struggled  as  he  had  years  ago  on  the 
diamond  when  he  tried  to  reach  home — but  the  great 
Umpire  of  the  Universe  yelled :  "You're  out."  And 
the  great  gladiator  of  the  diamond  was  no  more. 
Frank  Flint  sat  on  the  street  corner  drunk  with 
me  26  years  ago  in  Chicago,  when  I  said,  "I'll  bid 
you  good-bye,  boys,  I'm  going  to  Jesus."  Say,  men, 
did  I  win  the  game  of  life  or  did  they? 

Of  the  sincerity  and  the  persistence  of  the  change 
of  heart  which  took  place  at  the  Pacific  Garden  Mis- 
sion in  Van  Buren  street,  there  has  been  no  reason  to 
question  in  the  more  than  one-quarter  century  that  has 
transpired  since  then.  The  event  marked  the  turning 
point  in  the  man's  career.  Not  immediately  did  he 
give  up  the  only  calling  which  at  the  time  afforded  him 
a  means  of  livelihood ;  but  at  once  he  began  to  plan 
for  that  change  which  other  subsequent  years  of 
sacrifice  led  ultimately  to  his  present  pre-eminence  in 
the  evangelical  field. 

The  Pacific  Garden  Mission,  famous  for  other  no- 
table conversions,  among  them  that  of  Melvin  E.  Trot- 
ter, the  greatest  home  mission  worker  in  America,  still 
stands,  and  the  veteran  Harry  Monroe  is  in  charge, 


MEMORABLE  NIGHT  IN  VAN  BUREN  STREET          71 

as  he  was  upon  that  night  when  there  came  to  Mr. 
Sunday  a  vision  of  the  error  of  his  ways,  a  glimpse 
into  the  better  life  that  lay  before,  and  into  his  soul 
that  steel  of  determination  which  bade  him  close  the 
doors  on  all  that  had  gone  before,  to  turn  his  face  to- 
ward the  promise  land  and  journey  thither  strong  in 
the  faith  that  his  past  transgression  had  been  forgiven. 


Orr-Kiefer  Studio. 

MR.  AND  MRS.  W.  A.  SUNDAY. 


CHAPTER  VI 


COURTING  NELL 

Religion,  baseball  and  love  —  A  small  brother's  part  —  A 
September  wedding  —  A  little  home  in  Chicago. 

73 


CHAPTER  VI 


BEFORE  W.  A.  Sunday  had  visited  Pacific  Gar- 
den Mission ;  before  he  had  become  convinced 
of  the  obliquity  of  the  life  he  was  leading,  there 
had  come  into  his  existence  the  element  of  what 
Goethe  calls,  the  eternal  feminine.  In  this  instance 
it  was  personified  by  winsome  Nellie  Thompson, 
daughter  of  a  well-known  West  Side  Chicago  ice 
cream  manufacturer. 

The  exact  incidents  of  the  first  meeting  are  not 
clearly  defined.  Mrs.  Sunday  frequently  refers  to  it 
in  her  talks  as  having  taken  place  at  a  Presbyterian 
church,  but  the  evidence  is  all  in  favor  of  Mr.  Sun- 
day having  had  some  interest  in  the  premises  prior 
to  that  time,  since  the  Presbyterian  service  is  not  ex- 
actly the  place  to  look  for  a  baseball  player  who  comes 
of  Methodist  parentage. 

A  very  little  youngster  at  that  time,  now  a 
Chicago  business  man  by  name  of  W.  A.  Thompson, 
a  brother  to  Mrs.  Sunday,  ascribes  the  successful  con- 
summation of  the  courtship  somewhat  to  his  own  ef- 
forts. At  least  it  was  his  interest  in  baseball,  and  his 
youthful  admiration  for  the  star,  Sunday,  that  made 
easier  the  friendship  between  the  daughter  of  a  well- 
to-do  manufacturer  and  a  baseball  player,  who  like 
many  of  their  class,  could  boast  of  no  particular  social 
standing. 

According  to  young  Thompson  the  beginning  of 
this  friendship  was  back  in  1885.  Thompson  tells  an 

75 


76  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

interesting  story  of  how  he  tried  his  influence  with  his 
sister  for  the  position  of  mascot  on  the  Chicago  team, 
a  position  which  Sunday  made  possible  for  him,  and 
which  he  enjoyed  for  a  couple  of  seasons. 

Nellie  Thompson  had  had  advantages  which  were 
not  part  of  Mr.  Sunday's  bringing  up.  She  not  only 
enjoyed  the  usual  schooling  accorded  young  women 
in  Chicago,  but  devoted  considerable  time  to  a  study 
of  painting,  and  her  intimate  friends  still  prize  evi- 
dence of  her  skill  with  the  brush. 

It  was  during  the  courtship  that  Mr.  Sunday  was 
converted.  It  is  to  the  influence  of  his  sweetheart 
that  he  ascribes  the  fact  that  he  became  a  Presbyterian. 
The  Thompsons  were  Scotch,  and  Nellie  Thompson 
so  adhered  to  the  national  church  of  her  ancestors. 
As  evidence  of  her  influence  on  his  career  he  is  today 
an  ordained  minister  in  a  church  which  is  neither  the 
logical  affiliation  for  one  of  his  German  extraction 
nor  of  the  early  training  of  his  mother  and  the  home. 

Just  how  much  the  religious  convictions  of  Mr. 
Sunday  had  to  do  with  his  marriage  to  Helen  A. 
Thompson  probably  no  one  will  ever  know.  The 
momentous  question  was  asked,  however,  and  the 
proper  answer  returned,  and  the  record  shows  that  on 
the  5th  of  September,  1888,  Wm.  A.  Sunday  and 
Miss  Helen  A.  Thompson  were  joined  in  marriage  by 
David  C.  Marquis,  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  It  would 
seem  that  Mr.  Sunday,  in  common  with  all  mankind, 
was  considerably  nervous  at  the  time  he  secured  his 
license.  This  was  the  day  previous  to  the  wedding, 
and  on  that  ocasion  he  gave  his  age  as  24,  and  that 
of  Miss  Thompson  as  20.  This  calls  attention  to 
the  discrepancy  of  several  records  concerning  the  early 


COURTING  NELL  77 

life  of  Mr.  Sunday.  According  to  the  information 
on  file  at  the  orphan  asylum,  Mr.  Sunday  was  born 
in  1862 ;  according  to  the  biographical  sketch  in  "Who's 
Who,"  which  is  usually  very  accurate,  he  was  born 
in  1863,  while  the  deduction  from  the  records  of  his 
marriage  license  would  make  his  birth  year  1864. 

Mrs.  Sunday  says  that  the  date  1862  is  correct; 
and  that  the  discrepancies  arose  because  as  a  youth 
Mr.  Sunday  was  so  much  away  from  home  and  knew 
very  little  of  his  family  history. 

For  more  than  twenty  years,  the  Sundays  made 
Chicago  their  home,  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Throop 
and  Adams  streets,  which  was  then  one  of  the  best 
resident  sections  of  the  city. 

Even  in  the  lapse  of  the  relatively  short  time 
since  the  marriage  of  these  two,  times  have  changed 
remarkably  —  now  when  a  star  baseball  player  be- 
comes the  victim,  of  Cupid's  dart  the  newspapers  all 
over  the  country  herald  it  in  large  type,  but  in  that 
day  comparative  obscurity  was  the  portion  of  the 
wives  of  baseball  players.  The  Chicago  papers  either 
ignored  the  wedding  altogether  or  dismissed  it  with  a 
line  or  two. 


CHAPTER  VII 


APPLIED  CHRISTIANITY  AT  $83  PER  MONTH 

First  evidence  of  sincerity  —  The  temptation  that  fol- 
lowed —  Some  drastic  economy  —  His  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
work  as  an  education  —  What  his  superior  officer 
says  —  Fighting  Bob  Ingersoll  —  Speaking  in  prayer 
meeting  —  A  four  year  struggle  closes. 

79 


CHAPTER  VII 


IN  the  day  of  his  unprecedented  successes  it  has 
become  the  fad  among  a  large  number  of 
skeptics  to  question  the  sincerity  of  Rev.  W.  A. 
Sunday.  It  is  a  well  established  principle  of  law  that 
causes  which  govern  in  the  origin  of  any  act  must  be 
fully  weighed  in  considering  its  ultimate  consequences. 
The  strongest  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  Mr.  Sunday 
in  his  subsequent  activities  is  found  in  the  early  steps 
which  he  took,  following  his  conversion,  to  alter  the 
course  of  his  life  pursuant  to  the  new  convictions  he 
entertained. 

Probably  the  very  first  step  was  that  of  declining 
to  play  baseball  on  Sunday.  This  new  stand  while 
difficult,  was  easier  to  take  because  of  his  exceptional 
ability  and  prominence  in  the  club  of  which  he  was  a 
member. 

This  did  not  satisfy  him  however.  Repeated 
visits  to  the  mission  persuaded  him  that  there  was 
Christian  work  which  he  could  do  along  somewhat 
similar  lines.  An  early  step  was  to  petition  for  his 
release  from  the  team  with  which  he  had  a  contract. 
At  first  it  was  impossible  to  bring  about  the  desired 
result.  In  1891,  however,  the  dissolution  of  the  so- 
called  "Brotherhood"  threw  a  lot  of  baseball  talent 
into  the  open  market,  and  it  was  possible  for  the  young 
convert  to  secure  his  release. 

Now  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  salary  of 
$1,000  a  month  was  a  possible  salary  for  a  top-notch 
6  81 


82  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

baseball  player  of  national  acclaim.  To  these  specifi- 
cations Billy  Sunday  conformed  in  every  detail.  Yet 
despite  this  fact,  and  the  further  one  that  he  had  a 
wife  to  support,  he  relinquished  all  further  connection 
with  the  baseball  field  to  become  an  under-secretary 
at  the  Chicago  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  March,  1891,  at  a 
maximum  salary  of  $83.33  Per  month. 

To  make  the  contrast  still  stronger  the  Chicago 
Association  at  that  time  was  in  such  straits  for 
funds  that  his  salary  was  sometimes  as  much  as  six 
months  in  arrears.  The  evangelist  has  remarked  very 
often  that  no  one  then  accused  him  of  being  a 
grafter.  According  to  his  own  statement,  "I  went 
hungry  at  noon  and  walked  to  and  from  work  to  save 
car  fare." 

Properly  speaking  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  period  of  Mr. 
Sunday's  life  which  extended  from  1901  to  1905 
should  be  considered  as  a  part  of  his  education.  It 
gave  him  a  training,  which  has  since  proved  invaluable, 
in  meeting  all  manner  of  men  on  the  broad  plane  of 
humanity.  It  gave  him  an  opportunity  at  public 
speaking,  at  which,  according  to  all  reports,  in  the  be- 
ginning he  was  awkward  enough.  More  important 
than  these  it  brought  him  in  touch  with  the  big  men 
who  were  doing  things  in  the  religious  world,  and 
out  of  it  ultimately  grew  his  association  with  Dr.  J. 
Wilbur  Chapman,  even  then  a  world-famous  evange- 
list. 

L.  Wilbur  Messer,  general  secretary  of  the  Chi- 
cago Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  discussing  Mr.  Sunday's  con- 
nection with  his  institution  said: 

Mr.  Sunday  had  begun  the  Christian  life,  as  a 
result,    as    I    remember,    of    his    contact   with    the 


CHRISTIANITY  AT  $83   PER   MONTH  83 

Pacific  Garden  Mission  and  soon  became  identified 
with  our  association  activities.  Mr.  Sunday  ren- 
dered very  valuable  service  in  the  specific  religious 
work  of  the  association.  He  was  especially  strong 
in  his  personal  effort  among  men  who  were 
strongly  tempted  and  among  those  who  had  fallen 
by  the  way.  He  was  also  effective  in  his  evan- 
gelistic appeals  even  at  that  early  period  in  his 
Christian  life. 

We  never  had  a  man  on  our  staff  who  was 
more  consecrated,  more  deeply  spiritual,  more  self- 
sacrificing  or  more  resultful  in  his  work  in  winning 
men  to  Christ. 

Mr.  Sunday  while  with  us  was  a  bitter  foe  of 
any  kind  of  vice  and  did  some  effective  work  in 
creating  public  sentiment  concerning  certain  evils 
which  beset  young  men.  Mr.  Sunday  has  since  that 
time  rendered  most  valuable  service  in  many  cities 
where  he  has  conducted  meetings  by  approving  the 
association  and  by  raising  large  funds  for  its 
support. 

I  count  my  friendship  with  Mr.  Sunday  as  one 
of  the  rare  priveleges  of  my  life. 

The  change  from  active  outdoor  life  to  the  com- 
parative confinement  of  institute  work  at  first  inter- 
fered seriously  with  Mr.  Sunday's  health  and  he  was 
obliged  to  take  an  extended  vacation  at  Lake  Geneva 
for  recuperation.  More  and  more,  however,  he  made 
his  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  take  him  into  the  open,  and 
meeting  with  the  various  classes  of  people  whom  it 
was  his  province  to  interest. 

An  incident  of  his  work  is  probably  typical  of 
its  general  trend.  In  one  of  his  sermons  Mr.  Sunday 
says: 

When  I  was  assistant  secretary  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.    A.   in   Chicago,   I   had   H.   L.    Hastings,   who 


84  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

edited  an  anti-infidel  paper,  send  me  3,500  copies  of 
it.  Bob  Ingersoll  was  delivering  three  lectures  in 
McVicker's  Theater,  and  I  had  these  copies  dis- 
tributed to  people  on  the  sidewalk  as  they  went  in 
or  out.  The  first  night  Ingersoll  had  a  big  audience. 
The  next  night  it  was  smaller  and  on  the  third  night 
it  had  dwindled  almost  to  nothing. 

Every  day  at  noon,  while  Ingersoll  was  lectur- 
ing, Hastings  would  go  to  old  Farwell  Hall  and 
answer  Ingersoll's  statements  of  the  night  before. 
One  night  Ingersoll  painted  one  of  those  wonderful 
word  pictures  for  which  he  was  justly  famous.  He 
was  a  master  of  the  use  of  words.  Men  and  women 
would  applaud  and  cheer  and  wave  their  hats  and 
handkerchiefs,  and  the  waves  of  sound  would  rise 
and  fall  like  great  waves  of  the  sea.  As  two  men 
were  going  home  from  the  lecture  one  of  them 
said  to  the  other :  "Bob  certainly  cleaned  'em  up 
tonight."  The  other  man  said :  "There's  one 
thing  he  didn't  clean  up.  He  didn't  clean  up  the 
religion  of  my  old  mother.' 

Another  sermon  expression  throws  a  light  on  the 
manner  in  which  he  was  groping  toward  that  self- 
expression  in  which  he  came  to  excel : 

We,  all  of  us,  grow  by  expression.  When  I 
first  started  out  to  be  a  Christian  I  couldn't  stand  up 
In  a  prayer  meeting  and  use  three  sentences  con- 
secutively, but  I  made  it  a  rule  to  speak  whenever  I 
got  a  chance  and  so  I  overcame  my  natural  diffi- 
dence. God  blesses  me  because  I  am  determined 
to  do  something  for  Him.  I  could  have  sat  still  and 
withered  and  mildewed  like  a  lot  of  you.  God. 
wants  to  develop  us  according  to  nature. 

The  evangelist's  own  version  of  his  introduction 
into  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  is  interesting.  He  had  a  cpn~ 


CHRISTIANITY  AT  $83   PER  MONTH  85 

tract  to  play  with  the  Philadelphia  baseball  team  at 
the  same  time  that  he  was  particularly  desirous  of  tak- 
ing up  the  new  work.  He  had  already  received  his 
orders  to  report  for  the  trip  South,  which  is  the  com- 
mon practice  of  large  baseball  teams  in  the  spring  of 
the  year.  Not  knowing  what  to  do  Mr.  Sunday  "laid 
it  before  the  Lord  as  a  business  proposition,"  to  quote 
his  own  words.  He  decided  that  if  he  got  his  release 
before  March  25,  he  would  go  into  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
work ;  if  he  did  not  get  it  he  would  play  out  the  rest 
of  his  contract.  The  release  came  on  March  17.  But 
with  it  came  another  offer  from  Cincinnati  which  again 
threw  him  into  doubt.  He  was  offered  a  contract  at 
$500  per  month,  while  his  Y.  M.  C.  A.  position  would 
give  him  only  $83.  Consultation  with  friends  and 
particularly  with  his  wife  persuaded  him  that  the 
proper  thing  to  do  was  to  follow  his  conscience  and 
to  enter  the  field  of  work  for  which  he  had  prayed 
so  earnestly. 

Thus  began  the  struggle  of  four  years  of  hard 
work  on  an  indefinite  income.  A  work  with  varying 
aspects  and  experiences;  broadening  and  deepening 
his  nature;  amplifying  his  outlook  upon  life  and  giv- 
ing him  acquaintance  with  the  people,  and  familiarity 
with  the  organization  which  was  shortly  to  lead  to  his 
exceptional  triumphs  in  the  field  of  evangelism. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


TENTS,  TABERNACLES  AND  OTHER  THINGS 

Parting  with  Dr.  Chapman  —  Episode  with  President 
Harrison  —  Start  in  small  towns  —  Lack  of  sermons 
—  Association  with  M.  B.  Williams,  father  of  the 
tabernacle  —  The  first  tabernacle  —  The  philosophy 
of  the  tabernacle  —  The  famous  "sawdust  trail"  —  A 
choir  leader  is  added  —  What  Fischer  says  —  The 
work  grows. 

87 


MELVIN   E.    TROTTER. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

TT  was  in  Chicago  as  under-secretary  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  that  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman  first  met  Mr. 
Sunday.  The  earnestness  and  sincerity  of  the 
young  man  and  particularly  his  close  sympathy  with 
the  masses  made  a  strong  impression  upon  the  evangel- 
ist and  led  to  the  offer  of  a  position  to  travel  with 
him  as  an  assistant.  Those  who,  in  later  days,  chose 
to  contrast  the  methods  of  Dr.  Chapman  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Sunday  often  failed  to  take  into  account  the 
difference  in  personal  temperament  and  doctrine  of 
the  two  men.  Although  they  parted  company  after 
two  years  they  have  always  maintained  a  friendship 
and  shown  an  interest,  each  in  the  work  of  the  other. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  two  years  spent  with 
Dr.  Chapman  were  of  great  educational  benefit  to  the 
aspiring  evangelist.  Dr.  Chapman  was  not  only  a 
thorough  Bible  student  but  a  magnetic  speaker  and  a 
good  organizer;  he  had  developed  at  that  time  his 
peculiar  capacity  for  doing  a  great  deal  of  work  in  a 
short  space  of  time,  a  capacity  in  which  the  student 
probably  outstripped  the  master  in  later  years  but 
which  at  the  time  was  a  valuable  training. 

Mr.  Sunday  frequently  refers  to  his  period  with 
Dr.  Chapman  in  his  addresses  and  always  in  the  spirit 
of  the  greatest  appreciation.  Dr.  Chapman  then,  as 
in  later  years,  confined  his  efforts  largely  to  cities  of 
considerable  magnitude.  One  episode  to  which  Mr. 
Sunday  is  fond  of  alluding  has  to  do  with  a  campaign 


90  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

in  Indianapolis.  On  that  occasion  President  Benjamin 
Harrison  and  his  daughter  were  in  the  audience  and 
it  became  possible  for  Mr.  Sunday  to  extend  in  person 
an  invitation  to  the  president  to  occupy  a  seat  upon 
the  platform.  The  argument  which  the  young  evan- 
gelist used  and  which  finally  proved  effectual  was  that 
the  spectacle  of  a  man  so  generally  known  and  so 
generally  revered,  making  a  public  confession  of  his 
adherence  to  religion  and  his  faith  in  the  doctrine  of 
the  church,  would  have  a  powerful  influence  upon 
those  in  the  audience  who  had  never  taken  such  a 
stand.  He  regarded  it  as  one  of  the  proudest  moments 
of  his  life  when  he  was  able  to  lead  Mr.  Harrison  to 
a  seat  upon  the  platform. 

With  Dr.  Chapman  Mr.  Sunday  got  frequent 
opportunities  to  test  his  oratorical  powers  and  to  im- 
prove his  skill  in  the  composition  and  handling  of  his 
sermons. 

Although  he  has  never  said  so,  there  is  a  feeling 
that  it  was  a  desire  on  his  part  to  reach  men  who  could 
not  be  reached  under  the  Chapman  plan  that  led  Mr. 
Sunday  to  embark  in  the  evangelistic  work  by  him- 
self and  to  abandon  the  large  cities.  Anyhow,  this  was 
what  he  did. 

He  went  straight  home  to  Iowa,  the  state  of  his 
birth,  and  took  up  his  work  in  small  towns.  Places 
of  3,000  and  4,000  were  the  scenes  of  his  very  earliest 
independent  endeavors,  and  through  sheer  lack  of 
material,  according  to  his  own  account,  he  was  driven 
from  place  to  place  at  intervals  of  a  week  or  ten  days. 
"I  had  half  a  dozen  sermons  at  that  time,"  he  says, 
"and  when  these  had  been  used  I  had  to  go  on  to  the 
next  place."  During  this  period  of  his  career  tents 


TENTS,   TABERNACLES  AND  OTHER  THINGS  91 

were  frequently  employed  because  no  auditorium  in 
these  small  places  would  accommodate  the  crowds 
which  from  the  very  first  began  to  flock  to  his  re- 
vivals. 

It  was  a  little  later  that  Mr.  Sunday  became  asso- 
ciated with  M.  B.  Williams,  an  evangelist  of  consider- 
able note  in  his  day,  and  in  that  part  of  the  country. 
Mr.  Williams  is  given  the  credit  for  being  the  father 
of  the  tabernacle  idea,  an  idea  which  Mr.  Sunday  has 
perfected  and  improved,  and  brought  to  a  magnitude 
and  degree  of  perfection  of  which  its  inventor  never 
dreamed. 

Elgin,  Illinois,  has  the  honor  of  building  the  first 
tabernacle.  It  seated  3,000  people  and  had  a 
chorus  of  300.  It  was  dedicated  in  December,  1900. 
From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  at  the  outset  Mr.  Sun- 
day preserved  the  ratio  of  i.  to  10  between  choir  and 
auditorium.  In  the  days  when  10,000  and  12,000 
capacity  auditoriums  became  actualities  the  choir  had 
grown  to  1,000  and  1,200  members.  The  tabernacle 
idea  originated  in  the  early  nineties  and  has  been  very 
generally  adopted  by  evangelists,  particularly  those 
operating  in  smaller  communities  or  in  sparsely  settled 
districts.  It  remained  for  Mr.  Sunday,  however,  to 
demonstrate  its  utility  under  other  conditions  such  as 
Columbus,  Toledo,  South  Bend,  Wilkes-Barre  and 
Pittsburgh  presented. 

The  architecture  of  the  tabernacle,  like  its  size, 
has  been  a  development.  The  prime  requisite  in  every 
instance  is  the  best  possible  accommodation  of  a  single 
voice.  To  this  end,  lofty  ceilings  are  abandoned  and 
low  straight  roofs  are  used.  The  platform  or  speak- 
ing pulpit  is  pushed  as  far  as  possible  toward  the  cen- 


92  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

ter  of  the  auditorium.  Necessity  as  much  as  anything 
else  gave  rise  to  the  famous  "sawdust  trail."  Where 
thousands  of  people  are  gathered  together  even  an 
occasionally  shuffling  of  the  feet  is  a  serious  disturb- 
ance. No  sort  of  floor  is  noiseless,  certainly  none 
that  is  possible  in  a  temporary  structure  —  therefore 
the  sawdust  covering.  This  is  absolutely  soundless 
and  by  giving  it  a  base  of  tamped  tanbark  it  is  also 
impervious  to  fire.  In  many  cities  where  the  danger 
of  fire  has  been  urged  against  it,  the  mere  expedient 
of  throwing  a  shovelful  of  blazing  coals  upon  the  saw- 
dust floor  and  watching  them  die  out  has  convinced 
the  authorities  that  their  fears  were  vain.  So 
thoroughly  persuaded  is  Mr.  Sunday  of  the  utility  of 
the  tabernacle  that  he  has  refused  to  use  large  audi- 
toriums in  the  rare  instances  where  he  has  found 
cities  supplied  with  buildings  large  enough  to  accom- 
modate his  crowds.  There  are  other  and  psychological 
aspects  of  the  tabernacle  idea,  such  as  its  democracy, 
accessibility  and  uniqueness,  which  need  not  be  con- 
sidered at  this  time. 

For  two  or  three  years  Mr.  Sunday  struggled  on 
with  only  the  assistance  of  his  wife  and  such  help  as 
came  from  the  cooperating  ministers  of  the  community 
in  which  he  was  laboring.  Another  of  the  fundamental 
facts  of  a  Sunday  campaign,  that  of  absolute  coopera- 
tion and  unity  among  the  inviting  churches,  was  also 
insisted  upon  from  the  first. 

In  spite  of  all  the  obstacles  and  difficulties  the 
work  grew,  so  did  the  pile  of  sermons,  and  some  of 
them  amplified,  modernized  and  intensified  are  doing 
duty  today. 


TENTS,  TABERNACLES  AND  OTHER  THINGS  93 

An  interesting  if  unverified  account  is  given  of 
the  origin  of  the  phrase  "hitting  the  trail."  Accord- 
ing to  the  Steubenville  Gazette  the  phrase  originated 
during  Mr.  Sunday's  first  campaign  on  the  Puget 
Sound.  The  tabernacle  there  was  built  according  to 
the  present  well  known  plans  and  the  use  of  sawdust 
and  shavings  made  a  particular  appeal  to  the  lum- 
bermen who  predominate  in  that  region.  Trails  are 
cut  through  the  western  mountains  and  in  the  more 
sparsely  settled  districts,  furnish  the  only  means  of 
communication  from  one  settlement  to  another. 

The  Steubenville  Gazette  says :  "The  woodsmen 
sometimes  wander  far  away  from  camp  and  are  lost 
in  the  primeval  forest.  In  their  wanderings  if  they 
can,  hit  the  trail  they  are  saved  as  it  leads  to  the 
safety  and  shelter  of  the  camp.  So  on  the  pathway  of 
life  if  you  can  'hit  the  trail'  of  God's  mercy  through 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  you  are  led  to  safety.  So  these 
rude  lumbermen  in  their  camp  language  giving  up 
self  to  God  and  going  down  the  sawdust  aisle  of  the 
tabernacle  were  'Hitting  the  Trail.'  The  phrase  stuck 
to  the  Sunday  party  ever  since  and  it  has  a  thrilling 
touch  of  the  wildwood  and  a  meaning  that  is  very 
appropriate  and  beautiful  when  taken  in  the  language 
of  the  backwoods." 

Mr.  Sunday  does  not  sing  and  cannot  sing,  and 
one  of  the  very  first  things  that  he  recognized  was  the 
need  of  a  musical  assistant.  The  first  man  to  occupy 
this  position  officially  was  Fred  G.  Fischer.  Mr. 
Fischer  began  his  work  with  Mr.  Sunday,  January  4, 
1900,  at  Bedford,  Iowa,  and  continued  it  until  July 
15,  1910,  at  Everett,  Washington,  when  Homer  Rode- 


94  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

heaver  become  the  choir  leader.    In  commenting  upon 
his  association  with  Mr.  Sunday,  Mr.  Fischer  says: 

My  work  had  to  do  with  the  musical  end,  as 
soloist  and  chorus  conductor  for  five  years,  after 
which,  because  of  larger  and  longer  meetings,  a 
soloist  was  added  to  the  party.  I  then  gave  my 
attention  to  the  chorus  and  song  services  doing 
some  solo  and  duet  work. 

Mr.  Sunday  and  I  made  up  the  party  in  the 
early  years  of  the  work.  Length  of  our  stay  in  a 
community  was  two  and  one-half  to  three  weeks. 
Gradually  the  work  grew,  the  party  was  enlarged 
and  longer  time  was  spent  in  a  place. 

It  was  in  this  earlier  period  of  his  work  that  Mr. 
Sunday  attracted  the  attention  of  some  few  magazine 
writers.  In  the  American  Magazine  for  September, 
1907,  Lindsay  Denison  gives  this  impression  of  one 
of  the  earlier  meetings : 

To  one  who  has  attended  a  Billy  Sunday 
revival  the  story  of  the  methods  by  which  he 
achieves  these  results  seems  almost  incredible.  But 
by  his  words  you  must  know  him.  Some  of  his 
sermons  and  prayers,  in  cold  type,  are  of  a  sort  to 
make  all  New  England  shiver  with  horror  and 
cause  the  ungodly  to  giggle.  But  they  make  con- 
verts, the  converts  become  church  members — and 
the  army  of  salvation  is  magnified  by  thousands  of 
permanent  recruits.  Finicky  critics  must  consider 
carefully  before  they  deplore  the  Rev.  William  A. 
Sunday.  It  has  been  our  habit  for  centuries  to 
discuss  religion  and  the  affairs  of  the  soul  in  a  King 
James's  vocabulary,  to  depart  from  that  custom 
has  come  to  seem  something  like  sacrilege.  Billy 
Sunday  talks  to  people  about  God  and  their  souls 


TENTS,  TABERNACLES  AND  OTHER  THINGS  95 

just  as  people  talk  to  one  another  six  days  in  the 
week,  across  the  counter  or  the  dinner  table  or  on 
the  street. 

No  ambition  for  the  acclaim  that  comes  from  the 
masses  seems  to  have  had  any  weight  with  Mr.  Sunday 
in  the  choice  of  his  fields  of  labor.  That  he  was  almost 
fifty  before  he  became  nationally  famous  as  an  evan- 
gelist is  due  more  to  the  size  of  the  communities  in 
which  he  worked  than  to  any  other  one  thing.  Nat- 
urally diffident  despite  a  seeming  assurance  when  in 
the  pulpit,  he  long  hesitated  to  accept  the  calls  that 
came  from  the  big  cities  which  are  the  eyes  of  the 
world.  This  disinclination  on  his  part  was  intensified 
because  it  was  shared  by  Mrs.  Sunday  and  it  was  only 
by  degrees  that  the  remarkable  organization  which  Mr. 
Sunday  has  perfected  demonstrated  its  adaptability  to 
the  more  complex  conditions  which  obtain  in  the  con- 
gested centers  of  population.  True  to  his  earliest  dis- 
position to  heed  the  call  for  service  when  he  was 
sure  he  received  that  call  Mr.  Sunday  gradually  under- 
took larger  and  larger  responsibilities  until  his  work 
took  him  to  the  truly  metropolitan  centers  of  the 
United  States. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  SUNDAY'S  REVIVAL 
CAMPAIGNS 

Sowing  the  seed  —  Invitations  —  Necessary  unity  of  in- 
viting churches  —  Incidental  expenses,  how  guaran- 
teed and  how  paid  —  Newspaper  publicity  —  Cottage 
prayer  meetings  —  Building  the  tabernacle  —  Train- 
ing the  choir  —  Dedication  of  tabernacle  —  The  evan- 
gelist arrives  —  Organization  of  ushers,  personal 
workers,  trained  nurses  and  takers  of  collections  — 
The  first  surprises  —  The  first  call  for  converts  —  The 
uniform  success  of  the  organization  —  Mr.  Sunday's 
offers  from  the  outside  —  What  a  big  campaign  costs, 

97 


CHAPTER  IX 


CO  thousands  who  have  participated  in  a  Sunday 
campaign  merely  as  individuals  they  are  more 
or  less  of  a  mystery.  To  thousands  who  have 
only  a  reading  knowledge  of  them  they  are  unbelieve- 
able.  To  the  few  who  have  had  part  as  aids  or  cogs 
in  the  great  machinery  which  is  set  in  motion  in  every 
place  where  Mr.  Sunday  conducts  a  campaign,  the 
results  are  almost  inevitable. 

Through  more  than  twenty  years  of  work  and 
experimentation  Mr.  Sunday  has  contrived  a  detailed 
system  which  to  all  observers,  interested,  disinterested 
and  prejudiced  alike  appears  practically  infallible. 
Time  after  time,  as  new  territory  has  been  approached, 
the  prediction  has  been  made  freely  that  in  that  in- 
stance Mr.  Sunday  or  his  method  of  operation  would 
fail.  Yet  time  after  time  he  has  emerged  at  the  end 
of  a  six  or  seven  weeks'  campaign  with  flying  colors 
and  with  new  laurels  added  to  those  which  already 
marked  phenomenal  achievements.  When  unexpected 
obstacles  have  presented  themselves  the  genius  of  the 
evangelist  always  has  proved  sufficient  to  overcome 
them. 

For  this  work  Mr.  Sunday  takes  no  credit  to 
himself.  Uniformly  he  gives  to  Almighty  God  the 
honor  of  whatever  success  has  attended  his  labors. 
He  does  not  believe,  however,  in  leaving  anything  to 
chance,  nor  in  imposing  on  Divine  Goodness  by  any- 
thing which  even  remotely  resembles  shirking.  As  a 

99 


100  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

result  he  and  his  associates  work  with  prodigious 
vigor  and  energy  through  every  minute  of  the  cam- 
paign. But  no  amount  of  energy,  nor  anything  short 
of  a  miracle,  like  the  parting  of  the  Red  Sea,  would 
account  for  the  success  attendant  upon  all  the  Sunday 
revivals  if  it  did  not  begin  before  the  arrival  of  the 
evangelist. 

It  is  in  the  preliminary  campaign  and  in  the 
masterly  handling  of  details  that  Mr.  Sunday  demon- 
strates his  superiority  over  all  other  workers  in  his 
field.  For  years  the  demands  upon  Mr.  Sunday's  time 
have  been  such  that  if  he  accepted  all  invitations  he 
would  be  booked  at  least  ten  years  in  advance.  Obvi- 
ously this  gives  him  an  opportunity  to  pick  and  choose. 

Here,  then,  is  the  first  note  of  the  scale  which 
must  be  sounded  in  order  to  realize  the  full  harmony 
of  the  results  obtained.  The  mere  invitation  to  come 
to  a  city  has  no  great  weight  with  the  evangelist.  The 
city  not  only  must  want  him,  but  must  want  him  with 
a  consummate  fervor.  A  fine  instinct  resident  in  the 
evangelist,  and  largely  enjoyed  by  his  wife,  enables 
him  to  sense  to  a  nicety  the  real  anxiety  of  any  com- 
munity to  entertain  him. 

Committees  which  call  upon  him  during  cam- 
paigns, beholding  the  phenomenal  results  obtained, 
are  not  slow  to  make  almost  any  promise  exacted  of 
them.  Realizing  that  not  more  than  one  out  of  four 
invitations  can  be  accepted,  they  press  forward  with  a 
renewed  eagerness  which  naturally  places  them  en 
rapport  with  the  evangelist  and  his  work.  Thus  there 
is  established  in  the  inviting  committee  the  nucleus 
of  the  necessary  local  organization. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  SUNDAYS  CAMPAIGNS  id 

Next  comes  the  unity  of  evangelical  churches  and 
the  abandoning  of  all  conflicting  services  in  the  com- 
munity during  the  campaign.  The  larger  the  city  the 
more  this  demand  meets  with  resistance;  but  since 
resistance  in  no  wise  affects  the  evangelist,  and  since 
compliance  with  his  request  is  an  indispensable  pre- 
requisite to  a  campaign,  the  second  force  for  coopera- 
tion and  interest  is  set  in  motion. 

Next  comes  the  campaign  for  incidental  expenses. 
It  is  one  of  the  Sunday  doctrines  that  religion  in  all 
its  phases  should  be  self-supporting,  and  he  will  start 
upon  no  revival  service  the  full  expenses  of  which 
have  not  been  guaranteed  in  advance.  A  peculiar 
aspect  of  this  rule  is,  that  never  in  his  career  has  the 
guarantee  been  invoked  —  always  during  the  progress 
of  the  meeting  Mr.  Sunday  raises  by  collections  more 
money  than  is  needed  to  cover  the  entire  cost  of  the 
series. 

The  preliminary  underwriting  of  a  guarantee 
fund,  however,  furnishes  the  third  force  which  draws 
people  together,  arouses  their  activity  and  compels 
their  cooperation.  "Where  a  man's  treasure  is,  there 
is  his  heart  also,"  and  the  men  who  have  signed  their 
names  to  a  guarantee  aggregating  from  $10,000  to 
$25,000  are  very  apt  to  work  to  make  a  success  of 
the  meetings  for  which  their  money  is  pledged,  even 
though  there  is  a  moral  certainty  that  they  never  will 
have  to  pay  a  cent  of  what  they  guarantee. 

At  this  point,  or  even  before,  the  element  of  ex- 
tensive publicity  enters  into  the  campaign.  News- 
papers in  any  community,  whether  large  or  small, 
must  necessarily  pay  attention  to  an  enterprise  which 
the  business  men  of  the  town  or  city  are  backing  to 


102  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

the  extent  of  thousands  and  thousands  of  dollars.  The 
element  of  publicity  continues  with  increasing  vigor 
to  the  very  end  of  all  campaigns,  and  one  of  the 
remarkable  features  in  connection  with  it  is  the  fact 
that  this  publicity  is  never  sought  by  any  direct  or 
overt  act  —  it  comes  naturally  almost  spontaneously, 
and  is  easily  the  fourth  factor  toward  preparing  the 
field  for  the  advent  of  the  evangelist. 

Complete  success  demands  that  all  phases  of  in- 
terest and  energy  be  correlated  and  combined  in  the 
single  unit,  which  is  the  series  of  meetings.  Most 
important  in  the  estimation  of  the  evangelist  is  the 
series  of  cottage  and  district  prayer  meetings  which 
begin  two  or  three  weeks  prior  to  the  opening  of  the 
campaign.  For  securing  results  in  this  line  the  com- 
munity is  divided  according  to  wards  and  districts, 
and  an  organization  somewhat  akin  to  political 
machinery  is  perfected  and  set  in  motion.  District 
and  sub-districts  have  their  captains  or  leaders, 
and  these  in  turn  report  to  larger  divisions.  At  the 
headquarters,  which  have  been  established  prior  to 
this  time,  there  is  an  exact  knowledge  of  what  activity 
is  going  forward  in  every  part  of  the  city.  Wherever 
there  is  a  lagging  or  failure  to  show  zeal  trained 
specialists  are  sent  to  awaken  a  sense  of  responsibility 
and  concern. 

Next  of  the  forces  put  in  motion  for  the  welding 
of  interest  and  for  the  accentuation  of  publicity  is  the 
building  of  the  tabernacle.  For  many  years  Mr.  Sun- 
day's party  has  had  as  one  of  its  members  a  practical 
builder  and  architect.  This  man  reaches  the  city  from 
four  to  five  weeks  before  the  opening  of  the  meetings. 
The  site  of  a  tabernacle  having  been  chosen  in  advance, 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  SUNDAYS  CAMPAIGNS  103 

with  the  approval  of  Mr.  Sunday  who  always  insists 
upon  a  convenient,  accessible,  down-town  location,  the 
builder  calls  for  voluntary  workmen.  A  special  effort 
is  made  to  enlist  the  services  of  prominent  church 
workers,  and  the  spectacle  of  such  men  donning  over- 
alls and  acting  as  carpenters  is  one  which  never  fails 
to  excite  curiosity  and  arouse  interest.  Prominent 
preachers,  well-known  doctors,  lawyers  with  state-wide 
reputation  working  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  clerks, 
mechanics  and  school  teachers  is  a  scene  that  is  sure 
to  arouse  interest  and  receive  generous  newspaper  at- 
tention. Committees  of  women  from  the  cooperating 
churches  are  solicited  to  take  charge  of  decorating  the 
interior  as  soon  as  the  structure  has  been  roofed. 

In  the  meantime,  another  very  important  force 
has  been  at  work  in  the  collection  and  training  of  the 
people  who  are  to  constitute  the  choir.  As  previously 
noted  there  is  an  approximation  in  the  relation  of 
choir  and  audience  of  one  to  ten.  Musical  people  are 
known  for  their  enthusiasm  and  energy.  Singing  is 
remarkable  for  the  impress  which  it  makes  on  large 
crowds.  The  preliminary  training  which  this  choir 
receives  gives  the  evangelist  the  kind  of  a  field  force 
which  develops  in  effectiveness  as  the  campaign  pro- 
ceeds. 

Then  comes  the  dedication.  The  practice  has  been 
to  secure  some  noted  divine  from  a  city  where  Mr. 
Sunday  previously  has  conducted  a  campaign  and  to 
have  him  preach  the  dedicatory  sermon.  Local  min- 
isters prominent  in  the  campaign  have  other  places  on 
the  program.  By  this  time  one  or  two  of  the  advance 
members  of  the  party  probably  are  in  town  and  direct- 


104  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

ing  the  forces  already  existing  into  channels  of  maxi- 
mum usefulness. 

It  is  not  the  usual  thing  for  these  advance  mem- 
bers to  be  unduly  complimentary  or  conciliatory.  In- 
deed, the  day  or  two  next  preceding  the  arrival  of  the 
evangelist  often  are  among  the  most  uncomfortable 
of  the  entire  campaign  from  inception  to  culmination. 
The  feeling  that  with  all  their  earnestness  and  good 
intentions  they  yet  may  have  failed  in  properly  direct- 
ing their  efforts  places  the  entire  local  contingent  on 
the  qui  znve,  and  when  finally  Mr.  Sunday  arrives  a 
degree  of  expectancy  and  suppressed  excitement, 
which  is  almost  without  counterpart  in  civic  experi- 
ence, makes  itself  felt. 

So  much  for  the  major  preparations  and  the  chief 
forces  which  combine  in  making  fertile  the  field  and 
ready  the  workers  before  the  actual  meetings  begin. 
They  are  only  a  portion,  however,  of  the  many  de- 
tails which  make  for  the  ultimate  success  of  the  en- 
deavor. An  organization  for  ushers  that  operates  like 
clock  work  and  is  equal  to  any  general  emergency,  is 
one  of  the  lesser  portions  of  the  machinery;  a  com- 
pletely equipped  emergency  hospital  in  some  corner  of 
the  tabernacle,  and  out  of  sight  from  the  audience, 
is  another;  trained  nurses  and  hospital  helpers  are 
always  on  hand,  as  are  one  or  more  regular  physicians. 
Even  the  taking  of  the  collection  is  made  spectacular 
by  the  use  of  tin  pans  which  are  rapidly  passed  to  the 
melodious  jingle  of  silver  and  copper  coins.  Outside 
the  tabernacle,  but  near  at  hand,  there  is  a  nursery 
where  mothers  may  leave  their  children  in  the  care 
of  professional  nurses,  and  be  sure  they  will  be  re- 
turned to  them  in  first-class  condition  when  the  services 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  SUNDAYS  CAMPAIGNS  106 

are  over.  On  the  platform  there  are  always  provided 
from  a  half  dozen  to  a  dozen  and  a  half  desks  for 
newspaper  men.  Telephones  are  installed  in  the  taber- 
nacle for  the  convenience  of  the  evangelist's  party  and 
for  the  press  representatives.  Such  matter  as  should 
properly  be  given  publicity  always  is  easily  accessible 
to  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  minister  to  the  public  in 
that  line.  Thus  a  perfectly  oiled  piece  of  machinery 
awaits  the  touch  of  the  evangelist  when  he  steps  into 
the  pulpit  for  the  first  time  and  faces  an  audience  com- 
posed usually  of  the  regular  church  members  of  the 
congregations  which  have  united  in  extending  the  call 
to  him. 

They  are  not  in  for  a  complacent  praise  of  their 
virtues,  nor  for  a  congratulatory  address  on  their  pre- 
liminary work.  Instead,  the  sins  of  omission  and  com- 
mission of  those  whose  names  are  regularly  on  the 
church  roster  receive  a  scathing  arraignment.  Three 
times  in  one  day  this  will  happen,  and  before  twenty- 
four  hours  have  passed  the  town  is  ringing  with  won- 
der at  the  new  order  of  things.  No  amount  of  prelimi- 
nary announcement  ever  has  been  able  to  prepare  a 
community  for  what  is  coming  to  it.  Those  hearing 
him  for  the  first  time  never  know  what  to  expect. 

So  much  for  the  start.  For  the  rest,  the  indom- 
itable zeal,  the  phenomenal  vigor,  the  exceptional 
plainness  of  speech  of  the  evangelist  must  be  credited 
with  the  major  portion  of  the  success  that  follows. 

Ordinarily  Mr.  Sunday  preaches  from  ten  days  to 
two  weeks  before  any  invitation  is  issued  to  those  who 
may  be  under  conviction  of  sin.  In  the  meantime  by 
great  activity  he  has  familiarized  himself  through  per- 
sonal contact  with  all  the  leading  forces  and  factors  in 


106  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

the  city  life.  He  calls  on  city,  county  and  state  offi- 
cials; he  visits  prisons  and  penitentiaries,  almshouses 
and  hospitals;  either  in  person  or  through  his  assist- 
ants, noonday  meetings  are  held  in  factories,  in  work- 
shops, in  churches  and  in  private  homes.  The  inner 
circle  of  the  so-called  "four  hundred"  is  penetrated. 
The  outer  bounds  of  the  most  degenerate  classes  are 
made  to  feel  the  force  that  is  at  work ;  from  center  to 
circumference  the  community  is  stirred.  Such  is  the 
prodigious  energy  that  gets  in  motion,  that  thousands 
who  would  follow  it  are  prone  to  let  most  of  their 
work-a-day  activities  go  by  default.  In  church  and  in 
barroom,  on  the  streets  and  in  the  offices,  at  clubs  and 
in  factories,  among  leaders  and  among  those  who  fol- 
low, without  distinction  of  race,  color  or  creed,  the 
revival  campaign  becomes  within  a  very  few  days  the 
one  general  and  accepted  topic  of  conversation.  Poli- 
tics pass  unheeded  and  business  becomes  a  secondary 
consideration. 

Each  time  Mr.  Sunday  has  approached  a  city 
larger  than  the  scene  of  his  previous  operation,  the 
prediction  has  been  made  freely  that  here  he  would  be 
unable  to  make  the  preponderating  impressions  that 
had  been  his  previous  rule.  Invariably  these  predic- 
tions have  been  marked  by  failure.  As  the  campaign 
has  progressed  Mr.  Sunday  has  put  his  fingers  upon 
the  various  leaders  who  can  be  counted  upon  at  the 
proper  moment  to  use  their  influence,  by  precept  or 
example,  to  turn  the  tide  of  their  fellows  lives  into  the 
channel  of  higher  thoughts,  better  resolves  and  right 
living  generally.  Thus  are  marshaled  all  the  forces 
which  in  the  end  combine  for  complete  success. 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  SUNDAY'S  CAMPAIGNS  107 

Much  has  been  said  in  public  prints  of  the  volun- 
tary offerings  made  to  Mr.  Sunday  at  the  close  of  each 
campaign.  These  are  exactly  what  the  term  implies : 
While  in  some  instances  his  friends  may  interest  them- 
selves in  securing  promises  to  this  fund,  the  evangelist 
himself  at  no  time  takes  any  part  in  it,  nor  will  he 
receive  or  permit  to  be  received  for  him  any  money 
or  moneys  until  the  last  day  of  the  campaign.  At  that 
time  through  the  local  leaders  an  appeal  is  made  in  his 
behalf.  What  enthusiastic  appreciation  coupled  with 
a  competitive  spirit  will  do  in  these  instances  has  been 
truly  remarkable.  Yet  the  same  amount  of  energy 
and  the  same  system  employed  in  commercial  fields 
would  have  resulted  in  equal  or  greater  gains. 

After  he  had  effectually  established  himself  as 
an  evangelist  offers  of  $500  and  even  more  per  day 
were  received  from  various  Chautauquas  and  Lyceum 
bureau  managers.  Invariably  these  have  been  declined 
and  where  Mr.  Sunday  has  gone  outside  his  prescribed 
routes  for  a  day  or  so,  it  has  been  with  no  cost  beyond 
the  expenses  incurred  in  making  the  trip. 

The  size  of  Mr.  Sunday's  party  of  assistants 
varies  with  the  size  of  the  community  and  the  length 
of  the  stay.  The  usual  practice  has  been  to  exact 
of  the  local  organization  one-half  the  sum  paid  to  these 
assistants,  the  remainder  of  their  fee  Mr.  Sunday  him- 
self pays  out  of  the  voluntary  offering  given  him  on 
the  last  day  of  each  campaign.  The  expenses  incident 
to  a  six  or  seven  weeks'  campaign,  including  all  the 
ramifications  of  entertainment,  special  meetings,  cost 
of  helpers,  construction  of  tabernacle,  etc.,  in  a  city  of 
150,000  to  200,000,  is  very  large.  The  multiplicity  of 
details  is  hardly  to  be  believed  by  one  not  having  ac- 


108  REV.   BILLY   SUNDAY 

tual  experience.  The  following  official  recapitulation 
of  the  auditing  committee  of  the  campaign  at  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  made  while  it  was  in  progress  may  be  taken 
as  typical  : 

Additl 
TABERNACLE  Accts.  Paid  Expenses    Refunds 

Lumber  $5,678.40     

Labor 1,219.00    

Metal  Siding 287.74     

Ladders  28.02     $14.00 

Roofing  and  Paper 451.00     

Hardware 152.56     

Shavings  123.75       $22.50    

Gas  Lights 65.00     

Electric  Wiring 628.89          50.00     

Chairs  962.50    600.00 

Benches 24.00     20.00 

Signs 11.50     

Furnaces  348.26    

Decorations  67.05         60.29    

Fire  Extinguishers 157.50     75.00 

Carpet   10.00  ........          10.00 


$10,214.87 

Lor 

Taking    down    and    replacing 

billboards  $113.06  200.00 

Clearing  lot 160.00 

Rent  for  extra  ground 7 .50     

Restoring  Airdome   5.00  95.00 

$125.56 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  SUNDAYS  CAMPAIGNS  109 


OTHER  EXPENSES 
Printing         

$399.79 

35.00    

Postage       .       

128.89 

25.00    

Office  Kxpenses  

17.68 

15.00    

Office  Salaries  

96.75 

100.00    

Interest        

33.73 

Entertainment    

336.27 

424.00    

Bonds   

20.00 

Insurance   

162.85 

40.00 

Dedication                    

50  00 

Coal                  

97.79 

350.00     

Gas  and  Electricity      

79  50 

575.00     

Local  Transportation      ... 

3  50 

395.00    

Salaries  of  Workers  
Fred's  Room  

1,794.77 
66.75 

1,425.00    
10.00 

Rent  of  Memorial  Hall  

100.00    

Nursery         

90.00     

Electrician  

36.75     

Watchman       

152.00 

87.50    

Badges   

25.10 

Telephones                    

29.05 

6.00    

Rent     for     Southern     Theater 
meeting            ...        

46.50 

Reception  at  Y.   M.  C.  A.  by 
Sunday                    

11.25 

Team  expenses  —  Gill,  Peacock, 
Spiece                                 •    • 

64  30 

Advertising     

5.21 

5.00    

\Vesley  Chapel  Meetings     

40.00    

Incidental  Expenses 

11.25 

25.00     

Extra  Expenses  Sunday  Party, 
Long  Distance  Telephone  and 
Telegraph                                  • 

100.00    

$3,632.93  $4,422.04      $769.00 


Grand  Total  Acc'ts  paid.  .$13,973.36 


REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

RECAPITUUVTION 

RECEIPTS 

Sunday  Collections $13,849.35 

Church  Carpenters  229 . 10 

Southern  Theater  Meeting 37.70 

Dedication  69 . 13 


Total  Receipts  to  date $14,248.28 

Total  Paid  Out  to  date 13,973.36 


Balance  on  hand $13,973.36 

Bills  paid  to  date 274.92 

Future  Expenses — Estimated 4,422.04 


Total  Budget  $18,395.40 

Future  Expenses — Estimated  $4,422.04 

Cash  on  Hand..  274.92 


Amount  to  Raise  $4,147  12 

In  explanation  of  this  recapitulation  which  was 
prepared  several  weeks  before  the  campaign  closed,  it 
is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  entire  $4,147.12  was  raised, 
that  all  collections  ceased  more  than  a  week  before  the 
close  of  the  campaign,  that  several  thousand  dollars 
additional  were  raised  for  charity  and  that  after  the 
tabernacle  had  been  sold  and  the  other  salvage  incident 
to  the  campaign  turned  into  money,  there  was  more 
than  $3,500  to  be  divided  among  the  60  co-operating 
churches. 

Thus  Columbus  had  a  seven  weeks  revival  not 
only  without  expense  to  the  guarantors  who  had  sub- 
scribed to  the  company,  but  with  a  net  profit  to  every 
church  that  participated.  It  was  in  addition  to  this 
total  budget  of  more  than  $18,000  that  the  citizens  of 
Ohio's  capital  contributed  $21,000  as  a  free  will  of- 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  SUNDAY'S  CAMPAIGNS  111 

faring  to  the  evangelist  himself.  This  immense  sum 
was  secured  in  three  collections — one  each  at  the  morn- 
ing service,  the  afternoon  service,  and  the  evening  ser- 
vice. With  some  variation  as  to  detail  the  practice  and 
the  results  in  other  cities  has  been  the  same.  The  state- 
ment here  given  is  typical  and  shows  the  many  details 
which  have  to  be  provided  in  assuring  the  complete 
success  of  any  campaign,  yet  in  every  instance  in  more 
than  20  years  the  public  has  met  these  expenses  and 
has  given  a  generous  offering  to  the  evangelist  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  revival,  an  indication  of  apprecia- 
tion for  what  he  has  done. 


EVANGELIST  SUNDAY  IN  ACTION. 


CHAPTER  X 


SOME  WHO  HAVE  ASSISTED 

Sunday's  ability  to  select  competent  workers  —  Fred  G. 
Fischer  the  first  man  —  Rev.  Elijah  P.  Brown  an 
early  worker  —  Melvin  E.  Trotter  appears  —  Mr. 
Trotter's  comments  —  A  western  author  associate  — 
Ohio  contributes  Homer  A.  Rodeheaver  —  B.  D. 
Ackley's  work  —  Something  about  Fred  Seibert  — 
Miss  Grace  Saxe  and  other  assisting  women  —  Rev. 
L.  K.  Peacock  is  called. 

113 


CHAPTER  X 


T"WBRAHAM  Lincoln  and  George  Washington  pre- 
pfl  eminently  among  the  many  great  men  of  the 
J  I  world  were  characterized  by  the  unusual  wis- 
dom with  which  they  drew  about  them  assistants,  sup- 
porters and  advisers.  Almost  without  exception  this 
has  been  true  of  men  who  have  been  leaders  among 
their  kind,  particularly  in  any  movement  that  calls  for 
organization. 

Apparently  the  day  of  one  man  power  has  passed. 
In  this  respect,  as  in  many  others,  Rev.  W.  A.  Sun- 
day is  entitled  to  comparison  with  the  most  important 
men  in  the  world's  history  of  his  day.  The  tremendous 
celerity  with  which  his  campaigns  move  is  in  harmony 
with  the  general  spirit  of  rush  which  characterize  the 
American  people. 

It  is  important,  therefore,  that  the  many  details 
and  minor  arrangements,  which  necessarily  are  left  to 
others,  be  arranged  in  complete  harmony  with  the  gen- 
eral scheme  and  carried  out  with  the  exactitude  of  a 
railroad  time  table.  In  this  Mr.  Sunday  and  his  party 
are  particularly  successful.  Whenever  the  control  of 
events  is  in  his  own  hands  the  evangelist  is  never  late. 
All  his  meetings  start  on  time  and  close  on  time.  At 
the  myriad  engagements  which  are  part  of  every  cam- 
paign, he  is  punctuality  itself.  He  exacts  the  same 
respect  for  time  of  all  those  who  assist  him  in  his  work. 

Beginning  in  1898  with  no  other  assistants  than  his 
wife  and  the  local  ministers  the  organization  grew  in 

115 


116  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

less  than  15  years  to  comprise  parties  from  10  to  15. 
The  number  and  personnel  varied  from  time  to  time  to 
meet  the  local  conditions.  For  the  larger  cities  Mr. 
Sunday  has  always  arranged  to  have  some  one  famil- 
iar with  work  among  the  young  folks,  for  work  among 
shop  and  factory  people,  and  at  prison  and  other  penal 
institutions  wherever  they  are  found.  Two  or  more 
soloists  and  a  choir  leader  in  addition  to  a  pianist  and 
private  secretary  are  necessary  adjuncts  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  work.  A  builder  who  goes  in  advance  and 
prepares  the  tabernacle,  a  keeper  of  that  tabernacle  and 
in  late  years  a  general  manager  of  the  work,  a  sort 
of  right-hand  assistant  to  the  evangelist,  have  become 
definite  portions  of  the  organization.  Many  well  known 
evangelistic  and  missionary  workers  have  been  identi- 
fied with  the  Sunday  party  from  time  to  time. 

Their  church  affiliation  has  played  no  part  in  their 
selection.  Methodist,  Baptist,  Congregationalist,  Pres- 
byterian and  other  of  the  evangelical  churches  have 
been  represented. 

One  of  the  very  earliest  of  his  assistants  was 
Fred  G.  Fischer.  "I  began  my  work  with  Mr.  Sunday 
January  4,  1900,"  says  Mr.  Fischer,  "ending  it  July  15, 
1910,  making  a  continuous  service  of  ten  and  one  half 
years.  My  work  had  to  do  with  the  musical  end,  as 
soloist  and  musical  conductor  for  five  years,  after 
which,  because  of  the  larger  and  longer  meetings,  a 
soloist  was  added  to  the  party.  I  then  gave  my  at- 
tention to  the  chorus  and  song  services,  doing  some 
solo  and  duet  work.  Mr.  Sunday  and  I  made  up  the 
party  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  work.  The  length  of 
our  stay  in  a  community  was  from  two  and  one-half 
to  three  weeks.  Gradually  the  work  grew,  the  party 


SOME  WHO  HAVE  ASSISTED  ll? 

was  enlarged  and  longer  time  was  spent  in  a  place." 
Serious  impairment  of  his  health  required  Mr.  Fischer 
to  give  over  his  work  with  the  evangelist  after  more 
than  10  years  with  him,  and  he  was  succeeded  as  musi- 
cal director  by  Homer  A.  Rodeheaver.  After  a  pro- 
longed rest  Mr.  Fischer  sufficiently  recovered  his  health 
to  renew  his  evangelistic  efforts  and  in  company  with 
J.  R.  Hanley  they  have  conducted  meetings  both  in  the 
East  and  Middle  West,  attended  by  very  great  success. 

Another  helper  whose  reputation  is  coextensive 
with  the  religious  field  of  the  United  States,  is  Rev. 
Elijah  J.  Brown,  one  time  editor  of  The  Ram's  Horn. 
Mr.  Brown  was  associated  with  Mr.  Sunday  beginning 
with  a  campaign  in  Austin,  Minnesota,  in  February, 
1906  and  concluding  with  the  Galesburg,  Illinois,  cam- 
paign in  November,  1907.  Bad  health  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Brown  was  the  cause  of  separation  in  this  case 
also.  From  time  to  time  the  editor  was  called  in  to 
assist  briefly  in  subsequent  campaigns.  He  occupied 
the  position  of  confidential  assistant  and  was  for  many 
years  one  of  the  most  intimate  of  the  several  members 
of  the  party  with  the  evangelist  himself. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  and  well  known 
men  who  have  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  Sun- 
day campaigns  is  Melvin  E.  Trotter  of  the  famous 
City  Rescue  Mission  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  Mr. 
Trotter  is  another  of  those  who  were  converted  under 
the  administrations  of  Harry  Monroe  at  the  Pacific 
Garden  Mission.  Mr.  Trotter  did  not  travel  with  Mr. 
Sunday  but  would  come  on  just  at  the  close  of  the  se- 
ries and  assist  with  the  last  meetings.  "I  never  was 
officially  connected  with  the  Billy  Sunday  party"  he 
says,  "although  I  used  to  go  and  take  his  last  Monday 


118  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

night  service  in  nearly  every  meeting  he  had.  In  that 
way  I  kept  in  constant  touch  with  the  work  in  almost 
every  city  he  was  in.  It  is  certainly  wonderful  the 
way  he  moves  cities  for  God.  I  know  of  nothing  like 
it  in  the  world,  and  never  read  of  any. 

"I  have  been  in  many  cities  after  he  has  left 
them,  and  found  that  after  a  year,  two  years  and  even 
three  years,  the  interest  is  as  keen  as  could  be.  Some 
other  cities  the  interest  is  not  so  keen,  but  I  can  almost 
always  find  a  reason  for  that  locally. 

"The  town  or  city  that  can  land  Billy  Sunday  is 
certainly  fortunate.  It  means  crowded  churches ;  much 
work  for  souls;  finances  plenty,  and  an  all-round 
healthy  spiritual  growth. 

G.  Walter  Barr,  well  known  through  the  Middle 
West  as  a  writer  of  fiction  and  short  stories,  trav- 
eled with  the  Sunday  party  for  a  considerable  time 
in  the  earlier  campaigns  in  Iowa  and  Illinois.  His 
descriptions  of  the  meetings  and  his  analysis  of  the 
character  of  the  man  although  made  in  the  opening 
years  of  the  present  century  continue  to  circulate 
freely  in  the  press  of  the  country. 

Homer  A.  Rodeheaver  is  an  Ohio  product  born  in 
Hocking  county  and  educated  in  the  Methodist  school, 
Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  at  Delaware.  Originally 
destined  for  a  musical  and  dramatic  career,  he  early 
abandoned  all  thought  of  this  to  take  up  music  along 
religious  lines.  In  addition  to  his  choir  work  and  solo 
work  with  the  Sunday  campaigns  Mr.  Rodeheaver  is 
the  head  of  a  music  publishing  house  in  Chicago  and 
in  constant  demand  by  Chautauqua  and  camp  meeting 


SOME    WHO    HAVE   ASSISTED  119 

assemblages.  His  musical  compositions  are  in  demand 
from  coast  to  coast  and  he  is  one  of  the  half  dozen 
great  religious  song  writers  of  the  country. 

Associated  with  Mr.  Rodeheaver  in  a  musical  ca- 
pacity, also  acting  as  confidential  secretary  to  Mr.  Sun- 
day, is  B.  D.  Ackley,  whose  home  is  Philadelphia.  Mr. 
Ackle  is  a  pianist  of  exceptional  accomplishment,  the 
author  of  many  fine  hymns,  and  is  interested  in  a 
number  of  musical  publications.  Originally  a  railroad 
ticket  handler  in  the  East  he  abandoned  this  work 
when  his  musical  ability  forced  itself  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  his  associates.  Mr.  Ackley  is  a  stenographer 
and  one  of  the  few  in  the  country  who  is  even  par- 
tially successful  in  reporting  Mr.  Sunday  in  his  tre- 
mendous rapid-fire  flights  of  oratory.  Mr.  Ackley 
has  composed  the  melodies  for  many  of  the  songs 
which  are  most  popular  and  effective  during  the  Sun- 
day revivals. 

One  of  the  unique  characters  of  the  Sunday  party 
is  Fred  R.  Seibert,  who  is  known  as  "the  cow  boy 
evangelist".  He  is  also  the  keeper  of  the  tabernacle 
and  the  one  person  who  is  on  duty  24  hours  out  of 
24.  Of  German- Jewish  extraction  his  features  give 
him  out  to  be  rather  one  of  the  Mexicans  with  whom 
he  associated  so  long,  than  what  he  really  is.  Born 
in  Waverly,  Iowa,  he  was  broncho  buster  for  many 
years  and  rode  the  range  when  that  was  an  accom- 
plishment that  tried  the  mettle  of  which  men  were 
made.  He  joined  the  Sunday  party  in  1905.  With 
all  his  life  in  the  West  he  is  a  graduate  of  the  Moody 
Bible  Institute,  the  author  of  a  pamphlet  on  "Rescue 
the  Perishing"  and  is  an  adept  at  Bible  quotation.  He 
can  cite  at  will  1,400  verses  from  the  Scripture.  The 


120  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

conversion  of  Seibert  dates  back  to  1895,  when  leav- 
ing a  gaming  table  to  go  home  in  disgust  he  passed  a 
church  and  was  drawn  by  the  music  he  heard  to  enter 
and  participate  in  a  revival  then  in  progress.  He 
was  converted  at  that  meeting  and  at  once  took  up 
work  among  the  ranchmen  and  cow  boys  who  were 
his  regular  associates. 

In  1906  Miss  Frances  Miller,  a  newspaper  woman 
of  St.  Louis  joined  the  Sunday  party.  Her  specialty 
has  been  work  among  business  women  and  the  or- 
ganizing of  Bible  classes,  in  which  she  has  been  pre- 
eminently successful. 

Miss  Grace  Saxe  joined  the  Sunday  forces  in 
1911.  Miss  Saxe  has  had  a  variety  of  experiences 
in  missionary  work  and  is  also  a  contributor  of  some 
note  to  religious  publications.  While  visiting  in  Egypt 
she  was  assigned  to  go  down  the  Nile  and  get  an  in- 
terview with  Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt  when  he 
\vas  returning  from  his  famous  hunting  expedition  in 
Africa. 

The  general  manager  of  the  Sunday  campaigns 
is  Rev.  L.  K.  Peacock,  a  minister  of  pronounced  suc- 
cess in  Western  Pennsylvania,  who  gave  up  his  pul- 
pit to  follow  Mr.  Sunday.  It  is  Mr.  Peacock  who  first 
meets  visiting  delegations,  who  threshes  out  the  pre- 
liminary arrangements  for  campaigns,  who  visits  the 
city  once  or  twice  before  the  meetings  open,  and  who 
is  called  upon  to  fill  the  pulpit  upon  those  compara- 
tively rare  occasions  when  Mr.  Sunday  for  any  rea- 
son cannot  be  present.  The  evangelist  was  attracted 
to  Rev.  Mr.  Peacock  by  hearing  him  preach.  He 
found  that  Peacock  had  taken  a  "run  down"  congrega- 
tion and  built  it  up  until  it  was  the  leading  church  of 


SOME    WHO    HAVE   ASSISTED  121 

me  city.    "There  is  a  man  I  want,"  Sunday  remarked. 
He  got  him. 

Rev.  Mr.  Peacock  is  naturally  allied  to  the 
United  Presbyterian  church  in  which  he  was  ordained 
a  minister  in  1901.  Houston,  Pa.  is  his  home.  Mr. 
Peacock  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  youngest 
moderator  who  ever  presided  over  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Synod.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Westminster 
College  and  of  the  Allegheny  Theological  Seminary. 


CHAPTER  XI 


SOME  GREAT  CAMPAIGNS 

Early  records  uncertain  —  Compilation  by  Judge  H.  E. 
Burgess  —  List  of  campaigns,  conversions  and  col- 
lections —  Early  records  in  Iowa  towns  —  Complacent 
Maryville,  Mo.  —  Elgin,  111.,  builds  first  tabernacle  — 
Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  Pontiac,  111.,  show  growth  —  First 
entrance  into  Colorado  —  Record  in  Burlington,  Iowa 
—  First  work  in  Minnesota  —  Back  to  Colorado  — 
Bloomington,  111.,  makes  a  record  —  First  appearance 
in  the  East  —  Spokane,  Wash.,  eclipses  all  precedent  — 
First  campaign  in  Ohio. 

123 


CHAPTER  XI 


CHE  trite  adage  "mighty  oaks  from  little  acorns 
grow"  has  no  better  exemplification  than  in  the 
history  of  the  W.  A.  Sunday  campaigns.  Th.° 
monster  movements  swaying  thousands  and  interest- 
ing in  some  instances  close  to  a  million  people  in  a 
single  city  are  the  outgrowth  of  comparatively  tiny 
meetings  whose  history  is  lost  in  the  shadowy  recol 
lections  of  the  memories  a  quarter  century  old.  This, 
for  no  better  reason  than  at  the  time  they  were  not 
considered  important.  The  careful  records  which  the 
press  of  the  country  has  compiled  in  the  day  of  the 
big  campaigns  were  not  made. 

A  detailed  enumeration  of  even  the  more  important 
campaigns  must  lack  variety  and  possibly  that  ele- 
ment of  spectacular  interest  which  attaches  to  a  ma- 
jority of  the  activities  of  the  evangelist.  No  work 
that  purports  to  be  a  biographical  survey  of  his  life, 
however,  would  be  complete  without  such  an  enumera- 
tion. Unfortunately  such  of  the  records  as  exists 
are  in  many  instances  conflicting  or  lacking  in  def- 
inite authority.  In  that  which  follows  a  careful 
effort  has  been  made  to  sift  facts  from  fancies  and 
so  far  as  possible  to  give  the  best  available  informa- 
tion even  where  it  has  not  been  possible  to  verify 
statements  made. 

The  commonly  accepted  -list  of  campaigns  to- 
gether with  the  reported  number  of  conversions  as 
this  has  gone  the  rounds  of  the  press  is  given  below. 


126  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

It  should  be  definitely  understood  that  this  is  an  un- 
official list  and  that  diligent  efforts  to  verify  a  number 
of  the  statements  and  figures  have  been  without  suc- 
cess. 

CAMPAIGNS  1904  AND  1905. 


Cities  and  States 

Conversions 

Collections 

Marshall,  Minn  

600 

Sterling,  111    

1,678 

Rockford,  111  

1,000 

Elgin,  111  

800 

Carthage,  111  

650 

Pontiac,  111  

1,100 

Jefferson  ,  Iowa  

900 

Bedford  ,  Iowa  

600 

Seymour,  Iowa  

600 

Centerville,  Iowa  

900 

$1,500 

Corydon  ,   Iowa  

500 

Audubon,  Iowa  

500 

Atlantic,  Iowa  

600 

Harlan   Iowa  

400 

Exira,  Iowa  

400 

Keokuk,  Iowa  

1,000 

2,200 

Redwood  Falls    Minn 

600 

Mason  City    Iowa  

1,000 

Dixon,  111  

1,875 

2,000 

Canon  City     Colo      

950 

Macomb  ,   111  

1,880 

3,100 

Canton    111                  .    .  .         

1,120 

CAMPAIGNS 

1905-1906 

Rantoul      111           

550 

Aledo     111                

974 

Burlington  ,  Iowa  

2,484 

4,000 

Rochester,   Minn  

1,230 

2,250 

Princeton  ,   111  

2,325 

5,036 

Austin  ,  Minn  

1,388 

2,250 

Kreeport  ,  111         

1,365 

Proohetstown.  111.  . 

900 

SOME   GREAT    CAMPAIGNS  127 

CAMPAIGNS  1906-1907 
Cities  and  States  Conversions    Collections 


Salida,  Colo  

800 

Kewanee,  111  

3,018 

Worthington,   Minn  

1,037 

Kankakee,  111  

2,650 

Murphysboro,  111  

2,180 

Fairfield,  Iowa  

1,118 

Knoxville  ,  Iowa  

1,017 

Gibson  City  111  ,  

1,000 

CAMPAIGNS 

1907-1908 

Galesburg,  111  

2,580 

Muscatine,  Iowa  

3,579 

Bloomington  ,   111  

4,266 

Decatur,  111  

6,700 

Charlestown,   111  

2,467 

Sharon,  Pa  

4,731 

CAMPAIGNS 

1908-1909 

Jacksonville,  111  

3,007 

Ottumwa,  Iowa  

3,732 

Spokane,  Wash  

5,300 

Springfield  ,  111  

4,729 

Marshalltown  ,   Iowa  

2,026 

CAMPAIGNS 

1909-1910 

Boulder,  Colo  

1,596 

Cedar  Rapids  ,  Iowa  

2,906 

Youngstown,  Ohio  

'     5,915 

Danville,  111  

5,000 

Bellingham,    Wash  

4,500 

Everett  ,  Wash  

.....        4,000 

New  Castle,  Pa  

.....        6,683 

Waterloo  ,  Iowa  

4,500 

2,100 
2,100 
2,100 
3,608 
3,148 


5,000 
5,611 
8,000 
10,372 
6,000 
6,330 


7,500 

7,353 

10,808 

10,734 

6,022 


3,490 
7,080 
12,000 
9,000 
6,000 
5,500 

8,000 


128  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

CAMPAIGNS  1911 

Cities  and  States                  Conversions  Collections 

Portsmouth,  Ohio 5,224  7,100 

Lima,  Ohio 5,659  8,050 

Toledo,  Ohio 7,686  15,423 

Erie,  Pa 5,312  11,565 

Springfield,    Ohio    6,804  12,000 

Wichita,    Kansas    5,500  10,114 

CAMPAIGNS  1912-1913 

Canton,  Ohio 5,640  12,500 

Wheeling,  W.  Va 8,437  17,450 

Fargo,  N.  D 4,000  5,000 

Beaver  Falls,    Pa 6,000  10,000 

East  Liverpool,  Ohio 6,354  12,554 

MeKeesport,    Pa 10,022  13,438 

Columbus,   Ohio  18,137  21,000 

Wilkes  Barre,   Pa 16,854  23,527 

South  Bend,  Ind 6,458  11,200 

Beginning  with  the  campaign  at  Rantoul,  Illinois, 
in  1905  Judge  H.  E.  Burgess  of  Aledo,  Illinois  com- 
menced and  has  continued  a  compilation  of  the  Sunday 
campaigns.  He  has  concerned  himself  only  with  the 
number  of  conversions  and  his  list  down  to  the  South 
Bend,  Indiana,  campaign  is  as  follows: 

1905-1906  —  Rantoul,  111.,  550 ;  Aledo,  111.,  974 ; 
Burlington,  Iowa,  2,484 ;  Rochester,  Minn.,  1,244 ; 
Princeton,  111.,  2,325;  Austin,  Minn.,  1,388;  Free- 
port,  111.,  1,365;  Prophetstown,  III,  900. 

1906-1907  —  Salida,  Colo.,  612 ;  Kewanee,  111., 
3018;  Worthington,  Minn.,  1,012;  Kankakee,  111., 
2,650;  Murphysboro,  111.,  2,180;  Fairfield,  Iowa, 
1,118;  Knoxville,  Iowa,  1,051;  Gibson  City,  111., 
1,089, 


SOME   GREAT    CAMPAIGNS  129 

1907-1908  —  Galesburg,  111.,  2,508;  Muscatine, 
Iowa,  3,579;  Bloomington,  111.,  4,266;  Decatur,  111., 
6,213;  Charlestown,  111.,  2,467;  Sharon,  Pa.,  4,525. 

1908-1909  —  Jacksonville,  111.,  3,007;  Ottumwa, 
Iowa,  3,660;  Spokane,  Wash.,  5,666;  Springfield,  111., 
4,700;  Marshalltown,  Iowa,  1,987;  Boulder,  Colo., 
1,596;  Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  2,967;  Joplin,  Mo.,  2,937; 
Youngstown,  Ohio,  5,915;  Danville,  111.,  3,127;  Bel- 
lingham,  Wash.,  4,500;  Everett,  Wash.,  2,494.  -x 

1910-1911  —  New  Castle,  Pa.,  6,680;  Waterloo, 
Iowa,  3,357;  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  5,224;  Lima,  Ohio, 
5,659;  Toledo,  Ohio,  7,360;  Erie,  Pa.,  5,312. 

1911-1912 —  Springfield,  Ohio,  6,804;  Wichita, 
Kansas,  5,245;  Canton,  Ohio,  5,640;  Wheeling,  W. 
Va.,  8,437;  Fargo,  N.  D.,  4,000. 

1912-1913  —  Beaver  Falls,  Pa.,  6,000;  East 
Liverpool,  Ohio,  6,354;  McKeesport,  Pa.,  10,022; 
Columbus,  Ohio,  18,137;  WilkesBarre,  Pa.,  16,854; 
South  Bend,  Ind.,  6,458. 

Seymour,  Iowa,  boasts  one  of  the  very  earliest 
campaigns.  Its  duration  was  brief  as  measured  by 
the  standards  of  later  years.  Beginning  December  23, 
1900,  it  was  concluded  January  20,  1901,  according  to 
a  friend  who  participated  in  that  campaign  Mr.  Sun- 
day came  from  Elgin,  Illinois,  and  went  to  Afton, 
Iowa.  The  conversions  numbered  but  400  and  the 
free-will  offering  was  $568.  Fred  G.  Fischer  was  the 
only  assistant. 

N.  W.  Rowell  of  Afton,  Iowa,  is  authority  for  the 
statement  that  the  campaign  in  that  town  began  March 
6,  1901,  and  concluded  on  the  2/th  of  the  same  month. 
The  number  of  conversions  given  is  300  and  the  free 
will  offering  $750.  Mr.  Rowell  adds  this  statement: 
"not  to  exceed  10  per  cent  of  these  300  remained  l\ 
faithful  members  of  the  church." 

9 


130  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

Among  the  earlier  campaigns  for  which  no  abso- 
lute date  can  be  assigned  is  that  of  Bedford,  Iowa. 
Rev.  J.  W.  Neyman,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church 
there,  placed  the  conversions  between  300  and  400  and 
the  free  will  offering  at  $925.  He  says  there  were  no 
assistants,  but  in  all  probability  he  has  forgotten  Mr. 
Fischer. 

Rev.  C.  H.  John,  secretary  of  the  Nodaway 
County  Anti-Saloon  Alliance,  at  Maryville,  Mo., 
writes,  "Mr.  Sunday  was  here  some  15  years  ago.  The 
church  people  failed  to  give  him  any  support  in  the 
way  of  co-operation  and  his  work  here  was  not  a 
success.  Personally  I  never  have  thought  that  the 
fault  was  his.  The  Maryville  churches  were  at  'ease 
in  Zion'  and  did  not  want  to  be  disturbed.  Their 
greatest  need  today  is  one  or  two  months  of  such  work 
as  Billy  Sunday  is  able  to  do."  From  all  of  which  it 
appears  that  even  in  that  early  part  of  his  work  Mr. 
Sunday  did  not  always  meet  with  the  co-operation 
which  is  essential  to  his  greatest  results. 

The  editor  of  the  Gazette  of  Sterling,  Illinois, 
another  one  of  the  early  campaigns,  gives  the  number 
of  conversions  as  1,652  and  the  free  will  offering  as 
$3.250. 

In  light  of  developments  it  is  almost  amusing  to 
find  instances  where  a  Sunday  campaign  has  com- 
pletely passed  out  of  history.  Repeated  inquiries  to 
various  sources  of  information  in  Elgin,  Illinois,  pro- 
voked the  answers  that  so  far  as  these  people  knew 
Mr.  Sunday  had  never  conducted  a  campaign  in  their 
city.  Mr.  Fischer  the  first  musical  assistant  of  the 
evangelist,  however,  fixes  the  date  as  early  in  1900  and 
credits  Elgin  with  being  the  seat  of  the  first  taber- 


SOME   GREAT    CAMPAIGNS  131 

nacle  ever  built  for  these  meetings.  The  future  may 
see  in  Elgin  a  repetition  of  the  history  of  Homer 
whose  last  resting  place  is  claimed  to  be  in  several 
cities  through  which  the  poet  begged  his  way  in  life. 

The  editor  of  the  News  in  Atlantic,  Iowa,  fixes 
the  campaign  in  that  city  as  February  1902,  the  num- 
ber of  conversions  565  and  the  free  will  offering  at 
$1,500.  Fred  G.  Fischer  and  local  pastors  constituted 
the  only  assistants  at  the  time. 

Beginning  with  the  year  1904  reasonably  definite 
records  are  available. 

Marshall,  Minnesota,  enjoyed  a  successful  cam- 
paign in  the  months  of  January  and  February  1904,  the 
number  of  conversions  is  given  as  620  and  the  free 
will  offering  $2,100. 

The  campaign  at  Keokuk,  Iowa,  marks  the  first 
appearance  of  Rev.  I.  E.  Honeywell.  The  work  in 
that  city  began  the  5th  of  October  1904,  and  continued 
for  four  weeks  after  which  the  evangelist  and  his  party 
moved  to  Pontiac,  Illinois.  In  Keokuk  there  were 
900  conversions  reported,  and  $1,900  in  free-will  of- 
fering. 

Exactly  one  month  was  spent  in  Pontiac.  The 
campaign  began  November  5,  and  closed  December  5, 
1904.  The  number  of  conversions  is  given  by  the 
editor  of  the  Leader  of  that  town  as  1,054  and  the  free- 
will offering  as  $2,503.  Rev.  Mr.  Honeywell  and  Fred 
G.  Fischer  were  the  assistants. 

Even  at  this  period  of  his  work  Mr.  Sunday  made 
frequent  long  jumps  between  his  campaigns. 

Canon  City,  Colorado,  according  to  the  editor  of 
the  Record  of  that  town,  had  a  campaign  beginning 
March  26,  1005,  and  ending  April  23.  after  which  Mr. 


132  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

Sunday  went  to  Macomb,  Illinois.  The  number  of 
conversions  is  given  as  934  and  the  amount  of  money 
given  to  Mr.  Sunday  as  $2,200,  while  $2,300  was  re- 
quired for  local  expenses.  In  addition  to  Mr.  Fischer 
and  Rev.  Mr.  Honeywell,  a  Mrs.  Connett  of  Cheyenne, 
assisted  as  soloist. 

At  Macomb,  Illinois,  the  campaign  started  April 
29  and  concluded  May  28,  1905.  The  conversions  are 
given  as  1880  and  the  free-will  offering  to  Mr.  Sun- 
day, $3,146.30. 

W.  H.  Davidson,  Managing  Editor  of  the  Bur- 
lington Haivk-eye,  Burlington,  Iowa,  is  the  next  to 
report  a  campaign.  "Mr.  Sunday"  he  says,  "came  to 
Burlington  from  Aledo,  Illinois,  beginning  his  meet- 
ings here  on  Thursday  November  9,  1905.  The  meet- 
ings closed  December  17.  After  a  week's  rest  at  his 
home  in  Chicago  Mr.  Sunday  went  to  Rochester,  Min- 
nesota, where  he  began  a  series  of  meetings  on  De- 
cember 28,  1905.  The  result  of  his  meetings  in  Bur- 
lington were  2,500  conversions,  and  a  free-will  offer- 
ing of  $4,000.  Mr.  Sunday  was  assisted  by  Rev.  I. 
E.  Honeywell,  as  chief  of  staff,  and  F.  G.  Fischer, 
musical  director." 

The  Rochester,  Minnesota,  meeting  almost  equaled 
that  of  Burlington  according  to  the  report  of  A.  P. 
Gove,  editor  of  the  Rochester  Daily  Bulletin.  Mr. 
Gove  locates  the  campaign  as  beginning  December 
28,  1905  and  ending  January  29,  1906,  "The  first  ser- 
mon" he  says,  "was  not  preached  until  December  30." 
From  Rochester  Mr.  Sunday  went  to  Princeton,  Ill- 
inois. The  number  of  conversions  is  given  as  1,244 
and  the  free-will  offering  at  $2,206.81.  "In  addition 
to  this  sum  and  the  expenses  of  the  campaign  $16,- 


SOME   GREAT    CAMPAIGNS  133 

ooo  was  raised  immediately  following  the  closing  of 
the  Sunday  meetings  for  the  construction  of  a  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  building."  The  same  assistants  participated  in 
these  meetings  as  in  the  previous  ones. 

After  a  rest  of  only  a  few  days  the  Princeton, 
Illinois,  campaign  opened  February  n,  1906  and  con- 
cluded March  17,  after  which  Mr.  Sunday  again  re- 
turned to  Minnesota,  that  time  to  the  town  of  Austin. 
The  number  of  conversions  reported  was  2,225  with 
a  free  will  offering  of  $5,170.  The  assistants  were 
the  same  as  at  the  earlier  meetings  of  that  season.  The 
statements  made  here  are  vouched  for  by  H.  U.  Bailey, 
editor  of  the  Bureau  County  Republican. 

Judged  in  numbers  the  Austin,  Minnesota,  cam- 
paign did  not  measure  up  quite  to  the  mark  of  the 
campaign  or  two  last  preceding.  It  opened  in  March 
and  resulted  in  1,387  conversions  and  a  free  will  of- 
fering of  $2,367.53.  This  is  the  first  campaign  of 
record  were  Rev.  Elijah  P.  Brown,  one-time  editor 
of  The  Ram's  Horn,  appears  as  an  assistant.  From 
Austin  Mr.  Sunday  went  to  Freeport,  Illinois.  The 
data  of  the  Austin  campaign  is  gathered  from  the  files 
of  the  Herald  of  that  city. 

Mr.  Sunday's  second  incursion  into  Colorado  was 
made  at  the  opening  of  his  work  after  a  summer's  rest 
September  22,  1906,  at  Salida.  The  campaign  ran  one 
day  less  than  a  month  closing  October  21,  according 
to  F.  C.  Woody,  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank 
at  Salida.  Mr.  Woody  does  not  give  the  number  of 
conversions,  but  the  unofficial  record  is  612,  which 
compares  with  the  usual  ratio  observed  between  the 
number  of  conversions  and  the  free-will  offering 
which  in  the  case  of  Salida  was  $1,300.  This  is  the 


134  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

first  campaign  in  which  "Fred"  is  mentioned  as  hav- 
ing charge  of  the  tabernacle. 

By  the  opening  of  the  next  season  Mr.  Sunday 
had  largely  increased  his  working  force.  His  campaign 
at  Galesburg,  Illinois,  began  Saturday  evening,  Sep- 
tember 28,  1907,  and  continued  through  Monday  even- 
ing, November  4,  of  that  year.  From  Galesburg  he 
went  to  Muscatine,  Iowa.  The  conversions  are  given 
as  2,508  and  the  offering  as  $6,340.71.  In  this  cam- 
paign not  only  did  Mr.  Fischer,  Mr.  Seibert  and  Rev. 
Elijah  P.  Brown,  but  a  Mr.  Butler  appears  as  soloist, 
Miss  Miller  is  mentioned  for  the  first  time  as  having 
charge  of  Bible  class  and  Melvin  E.  Trotter  assisted 
at  the  meetings.  W.  W.  Whipple,  editor  of  the  Gales- 
burg Mail,  is  authority  for  data  concerning  the  cam- 
paign in  that  city. 

The  proportions  of  the  campaigns  continued  to 
grow  steadily.  At  Muscatine,  Iowa,  according  to 
Frank  D.  Throop,  publisher  of  the  Journal,  there  were 
3,579  conversions  and  a  free-will  offering  of  $5,611.23. 
These  meetings  began  November  10,  1907,  and  closed 
December  15.  After  the  Muscatine  campaign  Mr. 
Sunday  went  for  a  visit  to  his  mother  who  then  lived 
in  Kansas.  He  remained  there  over  the  holidays  re- 
suming his  evangelistic  work  at  Bloomington,  Illi- 
nois. His  assistants  included  Fred  Seibert,  F.  G. 
Fischer,  Mr.  Butler,  Miss  Miller,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Harper.  There  were  74  meetings  in  all  and  the  cam- 
paign involved  an  expense  of  $4,500,  which  Mr.  Sun- 
day as  usual  raised  in  addition  to  the  free-will  of- 
fering. This  was  one  of  the  first  places  where  an 
effort  was  made  to  keep  track  of  the  total  number  of 


SOME   GREAT    CAMPAIGNS  135 

attendants  and  they  are  estimated  in  excess  of  180,- 
ooo. 

At  Bloomington,  Illinois,  according  to  J.  L.  Sco- 
field,  General  Secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  taber- 
nacle was  made  to  seat  5,000  which  was  the  largest  up 
to  that  time.  Bloomington  took  on  itself  the  credit  of 
being  the  scene  of  the  first  big  meeting.  The  cam- 
paign opened  December  27,  1907,  and  ended  February 
3,  1908,  after  which  Mr.  Sunday  went  to  Decatur, 
Illinois.  "The  tabernacle  cost  $4,500,"  according  to 
Mr.  Scofield,  "the  meetings  lasted  38  days  with  3,865 
converts.  Mr.  Sunday  received  $7,763.17  and  the  ex- 
pense of  the  meetings  including  the  tabernacle  was 
$7,786.54.  We  had  102  regular  meetings,  with  375,- 
400  attendance ;  896  cottage  prayer  meetings,  with 
1,400  attendance;  25  Court  House  meetings  for  men 
with  1,500  attendance.  Meetings  for  women  were 
held  with  10,500  in  attendance.  In  all  a  grand  total 
of  414,000."  Mr.  Pledger  was  Mr.  Sunday's  assistant, 
Mr.  Fischer  had  charge  of  the  music,  Mr.  Ackley 
pianist,  Mr.  Seibert  in  charge  of  the  tabernacle,  Mr. 
Gill  advance  man  and  Miss  Miller  Bible  teacher.  Mrs. 
Sunday  also  assisted  in  the  women's  work.  During 
the  meetings  Mr.  Sunday  had  a  number  of  evangelists 
and  missionary  workers  come  to  Bloomington  to  as- 
sist for  a  day  or  two  at  a  time." 

The  records  established  at  Bloomington  were  im- 
mediately distanced  at  Decatur,  however,  and  the  in- 
vincible nature  of  the  Sunday  organization  was  fur- 
ther demonstrated.  W.  F.  Hardy,  editor  of  the 
Herald,  has  abstracted  from  his  files  the  information 
concerning  the  meetings  and  vouches  for  its  accuracy. 
He  says :  "The  campaign  opened  February  7,  1908,  and 


136  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

continued  until  March  17,  after  which  the  evangelist 
left  for  Charleston,  Illinois.  The  number  of  conver- 
sions was  6,209  and  the  free-will  offering  $n,- 
379.56.  The  assistants  were  Clifford  Pledger,  evan- 
gelist; Fred  Seibert,  custodian  of  the  tabernacle  and 
personal  workers ;  Fred  G.  Fischer,  chorister ;  Charles 
Butler,  soloist;  and  B.  D.  Ackley,  pianist. 

Making  his  first  entrance  into  what  is  usually 
known  as  the  East  Mr.  Sunday  opened  a  campaign  at. 
Sharon,  Pennsylvania,  in  May,  1908,  continuing  for 
five  weeks  after  which  he  returned  to  Winona  Lake 
for  a  vacation.  According  to  Ralph  W.  Roberts,  sec- 
retary of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  number  of  conversions 
in  Sharon  was  4,700  and  the  free  will  offering  $6,200. 
The  assistants  were  Messrs,  Fischer,  Ackley,  Gill, 
Pledger  and  Seibert,  and  Miss  Miller. 

Following  his  vacation  Mr.  Sunday  once  more  re- 
turned to  Illinois  opening  his  fall  work  with  a  cam- 
paign at  Jacksonville.  The  first  meeting  was  held  on 
September  25  and  the  series  continued  through  No- 
vember 5,  1908.  This  campaign  immediately  preceded 
the  one  at  Ottumwa,  Iowa.  The  Jacksonville  Journal 
gives  the  conversions  at  3,002  and  the  free-will  of- 
fering $7,837,20.  The  usual  assistants  participated. 
They  were:  B.  D.  Ackley,  Fred  G.  Fischer,  Fred  Sei- 
bert, C.  P.  Pledger  and  Charles  Butler. 

Ottumwa,  Iowa,  enjoyed  one  of  the  big  meetings 
of  the  fall  of  1908.  E.  P.  Canny  of  the  Ottumwa 
Courier,  is  authority  for  the  statement  that:  "Coming 
from  Jacksonville,  Illinois,  Mr.  Sunday  began  a  series 
of  meetings  in  Ottumwa  November  6,  1908  and  con- 
tinued through  to  December  16.  The  number  of  con- 
versions is  given  as  3,732  and  the  free-will  offering  is 


SOME   GREAT    CAMPAIGNS  137 

given  as  $7,355-77-  The  assistants  were  C.  P.  Pledger, 
Charles  Butler,  soloist ;  Fred  G.  Fischer,  choir  leader ; 
Fred  Seibert,  in  charge  of  tabernacle;  B.  D.  Ackley, 
pianist,  and  Mrs.  Muirhead,  woman  assistant. 

Many  new  phases  of  the  work  are  developed  in 
the  campaign  which  followed  Ottumwa,  when  Mr. 
Sunday  made  his  first  excursion  into  the  extreme  West, 
conducting  a  series  of  meetings  at  Spokane,  Wash- 
ington. Spokane  was  the  largest  city  the  evangelist 
had  undertaken  up  to  that  time,  and  he  had  doubts  in 
his  own  mind  as  to  his  ability  to  handle  so  large  a 
place.  Spokane  at  that  time  had  a  population  of  100,- 
ooo.  Spokane  established  a  new  record  in  the  taber- 
nacle line,  building  a  structure  calculated  to  seat  10,- 
ooo.  Rev.  Conrad  Bluhm,  of  the  Centenary  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Spokane,  reports  the  number  of  con- 
versions as  5,666,  and  the  free-will  offering  as  $10,871. 
The  assistants  were,  Rev.  C.  P.  Pledger,  B.  D.  Ackley, 
Fred  G.  Fischer,  Charles  Butler,  Fred  Seibert,  Mrs. 
Muirhead  and  Miss  Miller.  Rev.  Mr.  Bluhm  was  in- 
timately connected  with  the  campaign  and  in  speaking 
of  it  says :  "His  meetings  began  on  Christmas  night. 
I  had  feared  the  opening  night,  it  happening  on  Christ- 
mas. Probably  the  most  extensive  publicity  he  had 
to  that  time  received  was  given  to  announce  his  ad- 
vent to  Spokane.  We  used  the  big  advertising  cars 
of  our  two  trolley  companies ;  we  sent  to  all  the  subur- 
ban railway  stations  huge  posters ;  we  roused  the  In- 
land Empire  of  which  Spokane  is  the  nerve  center,  a 
district  the  size  of  New  England,  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  combined ;  we  got  the  unanimous  support  of 
our  three  big  dailies;  also  of  most  of  the  suburban 
press;  we  had  large  prints  of  the  evangelist  in  the 


138  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

windows  of  the  majority  of  our  homes ;  and  from  the 
pulpit,  the  hustings,  and  every  place  where  two  or 
three  were  gathered  together  there  we  met  them  and 
they  were  Billy's.  The  impossible  had  been  accom- 
plished—  the  man  who  was  unknown,  and  who  by 
most  of  our  people  was  looked  upon  simply  as  a  good 
evangelist  instead  of  the  evangelistic  genius  of  Amer- 
ica had  suddenly  become  the  first  man  among  us; 
Christmas  night  the  citizens  gave  him  a  reception  that 
fairly  swept  the  evangelist  off  his  feet — the  place  was 
packed  to  the  doors ! 

"Mr.  Sunday  has  been  in  few  places  where  his 
work  has  been  more  fundamental  than  in  Spokane. 
To  this  center  men  happened  from  the  British  Colum- 
bias,  from  the  Wenatchees,  the  Yakimas,  from  points 
in  Oregon,  from  the  coast,  and  from  far  off  California. 
Later,  from  all  these  points,  word  came  back  express- 
ing gratitude  for  the  Providence  that  had  led  them  into 
the  meetings  that  became  their  starting  place  for  hea- 
ven. Similar  letters  came  from  hundreds  who  were 
converted  by  reading  the  excerpts  from  the  papers  of 
his  wonderful  sermons." 

The  fall  of  1909  found  Mr.  Sunday  again  in  Colo- 
rado, this  time  at  Boulder.  The  meetings  began  there 
September  5,  and  concluded  October  10.  The  num- 
ber of  conversions  is  given  at  1,347,  and  the  free-will 
offering  $3,496.91.  Among  the  assistants  appears  for 
the  first  time  Miss  Anna  MacLaren,  the  vocalist  whose 
work  has  become  such  a  pronounced  feature  of  the 
Sunday  campaigns ;  Fred  G.  Fischer,  B.  D.  Ackley  and 
Mrs.  Muirhead  also  appeared,  while  Colonel  Gill  is 
reported  as  the  builder  of  the  tabernacle. 


SOME   GREAT    CAMPAIGNS  139 

Cedar  Rapids,  Iowa,  followed  Boulder,  Colorado. 
The  campaign  began  October  29  and  continued  through 
to  November  21,  1909.  From  Cedar  Rapids  Mr.  Sun- 
day went  to  Joplin,  Missouri.  At  Cedar  Rapids  the 
number  of  conversions  is  given  at  2,906  and  the  free- 
will offering  as  $7,000.  Rev.  John  Linden  assisted 
in  these  meetings  together  with  Mrs.  Muirhead,  Miss 
Anna  MacLaren,  B.  D.  Ackley  and  Fred  G.  Fischer. 
W.  G.  Young,  editor  of  the  Cedar  Rapids  Gazette, 
concludes  his  recapitulation  of  the  campaign  with  a 
characteristic  expression.  "We  like  Billy  Sunday." 

Mr.  Sunday's  first  appearance  in  Ohio,  where  he 
was  subsequently  destined  to  break  all  previous  rec- 
ords, was  made  at  Youngstown.  In  Ohio  Mr.  Sun- 
day encountered  a  different  sort  of  population  and 
a  different  class  of  people,  and  the  success  of 
his  efforts  was  another  demonstration  of  the  effi- 
ciency of  his  system  and  the  uniform  favor  of 
Providence  which  has  followed  all  the  evangelist's 
campaigns.  The  Youngstown  meetings  covered  the 
months  of  January  and  February,  1910.  It  opened  im- 
mediately following  the  Christmas  holidays  which  in- 
tervened between  the  Joplin,  Missouri,  campaign  and 
Mr.  Sunday's  appearance  in  Ohio.  From  Youngstown 
Mr.  Sunday  went  to  Bellingham,  Washington.  Mr. 
E.  L.  McKelvey,  a  prominent  merchant  of  Youngs- 
town, reports  the  conversions  as  5,965  and  the  free- 
will offering  as  $12,000,  a  sum  considerably  in  excess 
of  any  to  that  time  contributed.  Mr.  Sunday  brought 
to  the  Youngstown  campaign  the  most  complete  or- 
ganization he  had  had  up  to  that  date.  It  comprised, 
Rev.  John  M.  Linden,  as  assistant;  Albert  P.  Gill,  as 
organizer;  Fred  G.  Fischer,  chorister;  B.  D.  Ackley, 


140  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

pianist;  Mrs.  Sunday,  Miss  Frances  Miller;  Mrs.  Rae 
Muirhead ;  Miss  Anna  MacLaren ;  Homer  A.  Rode- 
heaver,  as  trombone  soloist,  and  Fred  Seibert  as  cus- 
todian. 

For  his  next  efforts  Mr.  Sunday  returned  to 
Pennsylvania  holding  meetings  at  New  Castle.  There 
his  campaign  opened  September  18,  1910  and  con- 
tinued through  October  31.  Pennsylvania  responded 
even  better  than  Ohio  had  done  up  to  that  time,  show- 
ing 6,683  conversions  and  $13,098  free-will  offering, 
according  to  the  Herald  of  that  city.  Rev.  Mr.  Honey- 
well, reappears  as  an  assistant;  Mr.  Rodeheaver  had 
become  chorister,  and  other  helpers  included  Mrs. 
Muirhead  and  Mr.  Ackley. 

Returning  to  the  West  the  forces  were  reaug- 
mented  for  the  campaign  in  Waterloo,  Iowa,  which 
began  November  7,  1910,  and  closed  December  19.  The 
assistants  were  Homer  A.  Rodeheaver,  choir  leader; 
Mrs.  Rae  Muirhead,  for  work  among  women;  Miss 
Anna  MacLaren,  as  soloist;  Mr.  B.  D.  Ackley,  pianist; 
Miss  Frances  Miller,  as  Bible  teacher;  A.  P.  Gill,  as 
architect ;  Fred  Seibert,  as  custodian  of  the  tabernacle ; 
and  Rev.  I.  E.  Honeywell,  as  assistant  evangelist.  Ed- 
gar W.  Cooley,  of  the  Waterloo  Reporter,  is  authority 
for  the  statistics  of  the  meetings  in  his  city. 

Returning  from  Waterloo  to  Ohio  Mr.  Sunday 
took  up  a  series  of  campaigns  which  practically  cov- 
ered all  the  larger  cities  of  the  state,  excepting  Cin- 
cinnati and  Cleveland.  It  was  his  work  in  Ohio  prob- 
ably more  than  anywhere  else  that  attracted  national 
attention  to  him  and  brought  him  invitations  from  the 
largest  cities  in  the  land. 


CHAPTER  XII 


SOME  GREATER  CAMPAIGNS 

Significance  of  Ohio  as  a  pivotal  state  —  The  opening  at 
Portsmouth  —  Toledo  claims  attention  —  Campaign  in 
Erie,  Pa.  —  Phenomenal  work  in  Springfield,  Ohio  — 
Wichita,  Kansas,  displays  results  —  Canton,  Ohio, 
comes  next  —  Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  pleased  —  Work  in 
Fargo,  N.  D.,  and  Beaver  Falls,  Pa.  —  East  Liverpool, 
Ohio,  visited  —  McKeesport,  Pa.,  next  —  On  to  Co- 
lumbus —  Columbus  a  crucial  test  —  All  previous 
records  broken  —  Sensation  in  near-by  towns  —  What 
the  Literary  Digest  said  —  Some  other  great  cam- 
paigns. 

141 


CHAPTER  XII 


SINCE  the  close  of  the  civil  war  when  the  State 
of  Ohio  got  in  the  habit  of  naming  presidents 
and  in  other  ways  dominating  the  affairs  of 
state,  any  considerable  activity  that  has  gone  on  within 
its  borders  has  had  a  national  significance.  The  met- 
ropolitan papers  of  the  East  and  West  alike  have 
paid  an  unusual  attention  to  the  doings  of  the  Buck- 
eye State.  The  people  are  accustomed  by  long  train- 
ing to  take  an  active  interest  in  a  great  variety  of 
things,  if  these  are  properly  presented. 

Without  arrogating  to  itself,  however,  either  an 
established  wickedness  or  yet  a  peculiar  disposition 
toward  piety,  Ohio  presented  a  logical  scene  for  such 
work  on  the  part  of  Rev.  W.  A.  Sunday  as  would 
bring  him  most  fully  into  the  light  of  national  at- 
tention. Moreover  the  various  Ohio  campaigns  which 
the  evangelist  conducted  beginning  with  the  close  of 
1910  came  after  years  of  varied  experience  through 
which  he  had  perfected  himself  and  his  organization 
and  made  himself  ready  for  the  greater  things  to 
which  he  had  been  called. 

Up  to  that  time  his  achievements  had  been  such 
as  to  challenge  comparison  with  the  better  known  evan- 
gelists of  the  day.  From  that  time  forward  he  was  to 
hear  himself  ranked  with  the  men  whose  names  have 
rung  through  the  corridors  of  time,  since  first  the 
Christian  evangel  was  preached.  The  days  of  Luther, 
of  Wesley,  of  Whitfield  and  Savonarola  were  invoked 
143 


144  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

for  comparison,  and  as  campaign  after  campaign  piled 
up  its  invincible  figures,  even  these  similes  seemed 
insufficient.  Pentecost  itself  was  the  only  achieve- 
ment which  Mr.  Sunday  had  not  surpassed. 

The  distinctive  Ohio  era  of  Mr.  Sunday's  work 
practically  starts  with  Portsmouth,  where  a  very  sig- 
nificant campaign  opened  on  the  last  Sunday  of  1910 
and  continued  for  six  weeks.  As  a  result  5,200  con- 
verts are  reported  and  a  free-will  offering  of  $10,554 
was  made.  The  assistants  at  that  time  were:  Rev. 
Mr.  Honeywell,  Homer  A.  Rodeheaver,  B.  D.  Ackley, 
Fred  Seibert,  Miss  Frances  Miller  and  Miss  Anna 
MacLaren. 

It  was  during  the  Portsmouth  campaign  that  Mr. 
Sunday  made  his  first  excursion  into  Columbus,  the 
state  capital.  There  was  at  the  time  a  vigorous  wet 
and  dry  fight  going  on  in  the  legislature,  and  the  Ohio 
Anti-Saloon  League  induced  Mr.  Sunday  to  come  to 
Columbus  for  an  address,  which  he  delivered  in  Me- 
morial Hall  to  a  crowd  which  broke  all  records  for  that 
large  auditorium.  The  event  made  more  than  a  state- 
wide impression,  as  the  talk,  delivered  with  its  accus- 
tomed fire  and  vigor  was  a  startling  innovation  even 
to  a  press  which  had  50  years'  experience  with  the 
vitriolic  possibilities  of  uncounted  political  meetings. 

This  visit  to  Columbus  laid  the  foundation  for 
the  call  which  was  finally  accepted  in  1912. 

From  Portsmouth  Mr.  Sunday  went  to  Lima, 
Ohio,  with  only  a  few  days  of  rest  intervening.  The 
Lima  campaign  opened  February  19,  1911,  and  closed 
April  2.  Rev.  T.  H.  Campbell  who  was  one  of  the 
co-operating  pastors  at  the  time,  reports  the  conver- 
sions at  5,700  and  the  free-will  offering  at  $11,324. 


I 

K 


H 

r 
§ 

H 

x 

5 


SOME   GREATER   CAMPAIGNS  145 

The  assistants  were  Rev.  Mr.  Honeywell,  B.  D.  Ack- 
ley,  Homer  A.  Rodeheaver,  Fred  Seibert,  Miss  Fran- 
ces Miller,  Miss  Grace  Saxe,  Miss  Anna  MacLaren 
and  Mrs.  Sunday. 

Exactly  one  week  after  the  conclusion  of  his  ar- 
duous services  at  Lima  Mr.  Sunday  opened  the  cam- 
paign at  Toledo,  Ohio,  April  9,  and  closed  it  May  21, 
1911.  The  figures  given  by  L.  J.  Beecher,  city  editor 
of  the  Toledo  Blade,  shows  that  Toledo  eclipsed  all 
previous  records  with  7,300  converts  and  a  free-will 
offering  of  $15,423.58.  The  assistants  were  Rev.  I. 
E.  Honeywell,  B.  D.  Ackley,  Homer  A.  Rodeheaver, 
Albert  Gill,  Miss  Anna  Mac  Laren,  Miss  Frances  Mil- 
ler and  Miss  Grace  Saxe. 

Mr.  Sunday  passed  over  the  borders  of  Ohio  for 
his  next  campaign  which  was  at  Erie,  Pa.,  but  returned 
immediately  thereafter.  The  Erie  campaign  opened 
May  28  and  continued  until  July  9,  after  which  the 
evangelist  went  on  his  usual  summer  vacation.  The 
conversions  are  given  by  the  editor  of  the  Herald  as 
5,314  and  the  free  will  offering  $11,565.67.  The  same 
authority  says  that  the  total  collection  for  all  pur- 
poses was  $21,926.83.  The  assistants  were  exactly  the 
same  as  those  of  the  previous  campaign. 

Springfield,  Ohio,  which  claimed  Mr.  Sunday  at 
the  opening  of  his  work  in  September,  1911,  while  con- 
siderably smaller  in  size  than  the  scene  of  his  several 
preceding  campaigns  almost  equaled  them  in  results. 
During  the  six  weeks  that  the  meetings  were  in  prog- 
ress 7,000  conversions  were  reported,  and  the  free-will 
offering  amounted  to  $13,000.  James  S.  Webb,  who 
was  an  interested  observer  during  the  entire  period, 
10 


146  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

writing  after  the  lapse  of  two  years  says :  "The  good 
work  he  did  here  still  continues  and  the  live  members 
of  our  churches,  Sunday  schools  and  brotherhoods  are 
Sunday  converts."  At  Springfield  Rev.  L.  K.  Peacock 
had  succeeded  Rev.  Mr.  Honeywell  as  assistant  evan- 
gelist. 

Once  more  Mr.  Sunday  left  Ohio  for  a  brief  pe- 
riod, conducting  his  next  campaign  at  Wichita,  Kan- 
sas. The  opening  date  was  November  12,  and  the 
closing  was  Christmas,  1911.  From  Wichita,  after  the 
holidays  Mr.  Sunday  resumed  his  Ohio  labors  at  Can- 
ton. Rev.  Andrew  Brodie  of  Wichita,  reports  the  con- 
versions as  5,245  and  the  free-will  offering  $10,250. 
The  assistants  were  Rev.  L.  K.  Peacock,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
A.  P.  Gill,  B.  D.  Ackley,  Homer  A.  Rodeheaver,  Miss 
Frances  Miller,  Miss  Anna  MacLaren,  Miss  Grace 
Saxe,  Fred  Seibert  and  Mrs.  Sunday. 

Rev.  Jay  W.  Somerville,  Pastor  of  St.  Paul's  M. 
E.  Church,  of  Wichita,  Kansas,  writes:  "The  work 
has  been  abiding  and  has  revolutionized  our  city.  Many 
prominent  men  were  converted  and  have  been  a  tower 
of  strength  in  the  church.  Out  of  this  meeting  came 
the  Layman's  Evangelistic  teams  that  have  secured 
over  3,000  conversions  in  150  towns.  Several  churches 
have  been  rejuvenated  and  the  work  is  still  going  on." 

A  press  dispatch  from  Wichita  says : 

Just  one  year  from  the  organization  of  the 
first  team,  1,913  men  and  boys  have  been  reported 
as  converted  as  the  direct  result  of  the  work  of 
this  aggressive  lay  ministry.  Converts  in  other 
towns  in  turn  have  organized  teams  and  have  ex- 
tended the  work  into  other  districts,  and  report 
similar  harvests.  A  letter  from  a  town  in  Okla- 


SOME   GREATER   CAMPAIGNS  147 

homa  expressed  gratitude  for  the  visit  of  one  of 
our  teams,  when  40  converts  were  secured,  and 
the  writer  added  significantly,  "We  now  have  a 
team  of  our  own  and  have  visited  a  number  .of 
places,  and  down  to  date" — a  period  of  about  two 
months — "we  have  125  converts." 

There  are  bankers  and  barbers,  capitalists 
and  cattlemen,  dentists  and  drivers,  editors  and 
electricians,  lawyers  and  laborers,  merchants  and 
mechanics,  teachers  and  traveling  men,  all  bound 
together  by  one  bond  of  faith  in  Jesus,  one  stead- 
fast and  consuming  purpose  to  win  men  into  the 
Kingdom.  These  men  walk  long  distances  to  hold 
meetings,  go  in  automobiles,  or  charter  Pullman 
cars,  as  the  case  may  require,  each  man  paying  his 
own  traveling  expenses  and  hotel  bills,  giving 
freely  of  his  time,  substance,  and  service  for  the 
Master.  Lately,  however,  our  independent  Kansas 
towns,  when  visited,  prefer  to  pay  traveling  ex- 
penses and  give  entertainment. 

Conservative  Canton,  Ohio,  was  the  next  place 
to  feel  the  sting  of  the  activity  of  a  Sunday  campaign. 
The  meetings  opened  there  December  31,  1911  and 
ended  February  n,  1912.  Wm.  A.  Ernst,  of  the 
Canton  Repository,  says  the  accepted  number  of  con- 
versions was  5,654.  This  excluded  a  large  number  of 
youngsters,  perhaps  several  thousands.  The  free-will 
offering  amounted  to  $13,000.  The  assistants  were 
Homer  A.  Rodeheaver,  B.  D.  Ackley,  Miss  Frances 
Miller,  Miss  Anna  Mac  Laren,  Miss  Grace  Saxe,  Rev. 
L.  K.  Peacock  and  Fred  Seibert. 

Three  campaigns  intervened  before  Mr.  Sunday 
again  returned  to  Ohio  for  active  work.  Wheeling, 
West  Virginia,  had  a  series  of  meetings  which  started 
February  18  and  closed  March  31,  1912.  Charles  E. 


148  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

Miner  quoting  from  the  press  of  his  city  says  "8,437 
is  the  accepted  number  of  conversions,  the  free-will 
offering  was  $17,000."  This  was  a  new  record  in 
offerings  at  that  time.  The  assistants  were  the  same 
as  those  for  the  previous  meetings  with  the  addition  of 
George  M.  Sunday,  a  son  of  the  evangelist,  partici- 
pating for  a  period. 

Rev.  W.  S.  Dysinger,  pastor  of  the  First  English 
Lutheran  church  of  Wheeling,  in  a  public  meeting 
two  years  after  the  campaign  said  "every  church  in 
the  city  had  derived  wonderful  results  from  the  cam- 
paign; that  practically  all  of  the  new  members  who 
were  converted  during  the  revival  are  still  in  the 
church  and  that  Wheeling  people  were  benefited  mor- 
ally, physically  and  financially."  Rev.  Mr.  Dysinger 
cited  three  instances  of  good  Mr.  Sunday  had  accom- 
plished that  had  recently  come  to  his  attention. 

The  first,  he  said,  was  the  case  of  a  huckster 
he  had  met  on  the  street.  "You  see  that  good 
horse  and  wagon  and  that  wagon  load  of  pro- 
duce?" the  fellow  said  to  the  minister.  "Well, 
that's  what  Billy  Sunday  did  for  me." 

The  second  was  the  case  of  a  wife  deserter, 
who  had  been  converted  and  had  returned  to  his 
family  to  protect  and  provide  for  them.  Another 
was  that  of  a  laborer  who  had,  previous  to  the 
campaign,  been  satisfied  with  living  in  a  little 
shack  entirely  too  small  for  the  needs  of  his 
family.  He  "hit  the  sawdust  trail"  during  the 
Sunday  meetings  and  immediately  doubled  the  size 
of  the  dwelling.  "Billy  Sunday  and  his  preach- 
ing made  me  do  it,"  the  fellow  told  Rev.  Mr. 
Dysinger,  when  the  minister  asked  him  what  had 
brought  about  the  change. 


SOME   GREATER   CAMPAIGNS  149 

The  minister  said  his  own  church  had  re- 
ceived 328  new  members  as  a  result  of  the  cam- 
paign, and  less  than  a  dozen  had  dropped  out  since. 
He  laughingly  explained  to  the  audience  he  wished 
to  lay  particular  emphasis  on  the  fact  he  is  the 
pastor  of  a  Lutheran  church. 

"If  the  people  don't  stick,"  the  minister  said 
in  conclusion,  "don't  blame  Billy  Sunday.  It  isn't 
his  fault.  Rather  you  should  lay  it  at  the  door  of 
the  ministers  and  the  people." 

Making  another  of  his  long  jumps  Mr.  Sunday 
next  directed  his  energies  to  the  spiritual  rejuvenation 
of  Fargo,  North  Dakota,  a  community,  which  accord- 
ing to  all  published  reports,  stood  in  need  of  such  at- 
tention. Ralph  R.  Wolf,  secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
defines  the  campaign  as  starting  March  7  and  conclud- 
ing May  12,  1912,  with  conversions  numbering  3,159, 
and  a  free-will  offering  of  $5,026.  The  same  corps 
of  assistants  that  had  been  so  successful  in  Wheeling 
participated  in  the  North  Dakota  work. 

Beaver  Falls,  Pa.,  was  the  last  place  that  meetings 
were  held  prior  to  the  summer  vacation  of  1912.  The 
Beaver  Falls  meetings  according  to  Rev.  Geo.  B.  Laird, 
opened  May  16,  and  closed  June  24,  1912.  The  con- 
versions were  over  4,229  and  the  free-will  offering  was 
$10,357.56.  Rev.  L.  K.  Peacock,  Homer  A.  Rode- 
heaver,  B.  D.  Ackley,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gill,  Fred  Sei- 
bert,  Miss  Grace  Saxe,  Miss  Anna  Mac  Laren,  Miss 
Frances  Miller  and  Mrs.  Sunday  added  their  energies 
to  this  campaign. 

F.  S.  Reader,  editor  of  the  Beaver  Valley  News, 
which  was  within  the  zone  of  the  Sunday  influence 
writes.  "He  was  a  great  blessing  to  our  valley." 


150  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

East  Liverpool,  Ohio,  followed  the  summer  vaca- 
tion. The  meetings  opened  September  15  and  closed 
October  27,  1912,  according  to  C.  V.  Talbot,  manag- 
ing editor  of  the  Morning  Tribune.  He  gives  the  con- 
versions as  6,354  and  the  free-will  offering  as  $12,600. 
The  assistants  were,  B.  D.  Ackley,  Miss  Grace  Saxe, 
Prof.  Hugh  Laughlin,  who  took  the  place  of  Homer 
A.  Rodeheaver  who  was  taken  ill  at  East  Liverpool, 
Miss  Anna  Mac  Laren,  Fred  Seibert,  "Uncle  Jimmy" 
Johnson  and  Mrs.  Sunday.  Mr.  Talbot  concludes 
"Billy  Sunday  is  worthy  of  every  boost." 

McKeesport,  Pa.,  practically  a  suburb  of  Pitts- 
burg,  was  the  scene  of  the  second  campaign  of  the 
fall  of  1912.  The  work  started  there  November  3 
and  continued  for  six  weeks,  during  which  time  10,- 
022  converts  were  made  and  a  free-will  offering  of 
$13,438  was  secured.  The  assistants  were  the  same 
as  those  who  co-operated  at  East  Liverpool. 

From  McKeesport  with  only  a  few  intervening 
days  of  rest  spent  at  his  home  in  Winona  Lake,  Mr. 
Sunday  and  his  party  came  to  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Columbus,  because  of  the  peculiar  cosmopolitan 
nature  of  its  inhabitants  and  the  extraordinary  im- 
portance attached  to  politics  in  that  city  at  all  times 
of  the  year,  and  the  further  fact  that  the  legislature 
was  in  session,  and  that  the  inauguration  of  the  gov- 
ernor would  take  place  during  the  period  of  the  Sun- 
day campaign,  led  to  repeated  predictions,  both  pub- 
lically  and  privately  expressed,  that  the  usual  results 
attending  Mr.  Sunday's  efforts  would  not  be  forthcom- 
ing as  they  had  been  in  the  past.  Seven  weeks  were 
destined  to  disapprove  every  one  of  these  assertions 
and  to  establish  new  high  marks  in  all  the  lines  of  his 


SOME   GREATER   CAMPAIGNS  151 

efforts,  most  of  which  have  not  at  this  writing  (No- 
vember 1913)  been  equaled. 

Joe  Speice,  the  architect,  who  had  taken  the  place 
of  Colonel  Gill  as  advance  man,  builded  for  Columbus 
the  largest  tabernacle  ever  erected  for  Mr.  Sunday, 
and  the  glory  of  the  work  which  he  carries  on.  Includ- 
ing the  choir  loft  which  seated  over  1,200  people  the 
auditorium  had  a  capacity  of  12,000  seats,  and  this 
with  few  exceptions  was  tested  at  every  one  of  the  93 
meetings,  so  that  at  the  conclusion  it  was  estimated 
that  almost  1,000,000  persons  had  sat  under  the  spell 
of  this  wonderful  man's  preaching. 

The  total  number  of  converts  was  18,333,  of  whom 
2,189  came  forward  on  the  last  day,  thus  eclipsing  all 
evangelical  records  of  modern  times. 

Mr.  Sunday's  offering  was  $21,000;  the  amount 
collected  for  current  expenses  was  $19,187.81 ;  col- 
lected for  charity  $2,381.55;  special  offering  for  the 
women  in  the  Sunday  party  $1,115.55;  grand  total  of 
moneys  collected  during  the  campaign  $44,432.68. 

The  nursery,  which  was  in  a  building  adjacent  to 
the  tabernacle,  cared  for  1,884  babies  during  the  meet- 
ings. A  "check"  was  issued  to  the  mother  of  each 
baby  to  avoid  confusion. 

The  revival  opened  December  29,  1912  and  closed 
February  16,  1913. 

It  was  during  the  Columbus  campaign  that  Mr. 
Sunday  was  compelled,  somewhat  against  his  will,  to 
repeat  a  number  of  his  sermons,  because  often  the 
12,000  who  crowded  the  tabernacle  was  only  a  portion 
of  the  throng  which  demanded  to  hear  certain  of  his 
well  known  sermons. 


152  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

Columbus  also  broke  all  records  for  the  "women 
only"  meeting,  Mr.  Sunday  being  compelled  to  give 
the  same  discourse  three  times  in  the  same  day,  a  tour 
de  force  of  such  magnitude  that  it  can  be  appreciated 
only  by  those  who  have  heard  the  evangelist  through 
one  of  his  large  and  exciting  discourses. 

The  press  of  Columbus  estimated  that  on  that  day 
40,000  women  heard  Mr.  Sunday.  They  began  to 
seek  admission  as  early  as  5  o'clock  in  the  morning; 
doors  were  opened  for  the  first  meeting  at  10:30  and 
closed  at  n,  and  at  11:45  the  first  sermon  was 
preached,  concluding  at  1 :5o.  The  second  sermon 
followed  immediately  and  the  third  was  given  in  the 
evening. 

To  fully  appreciate  the  significance  of  these 
figures  it  is  necessary  to  add  that  during  all  the  morn- 
ing hours  a  cold  drizzling  rain  was  falling.  The  ex- 
citement on  the  outside  so  nearly  approached  a  riot 
that  police  reserves  were  called  out  to  prevent  acci- 
dents. 

The  women  finally  "rushed"  the  police  line  and 
literally  battered  down  a  large  door  to  gain  admit- 
tance. The  place  was  packed  almost  to  suffocation  — 
several  fainting.  Even  the  pulpit  platform  was 
crowded  with  women,  who  sat  on  the  edge. 

On  several  nights  Mr.  Sunday  was  compelled  to 
stop  his  sermons  temporarily  on  account  of  noise  by 
people  who  had  climbed  to  the  roof  to  peer  through 
the  ventilators. 

Columbus  served  to  show  the  wide  range  of  in- 
fluence a  Sunday  campaign  has  in  the  surrounding 
community.  The  following  episode  detailed  by  the 
Columbus  Citizen  is  typical: 


SOME   GREATER   CAMPAIGNS  153 

Fire  and  ehurch  bells  rang,  whistles  blew, 
shops  shut  down',  stores  and  schools  closed  and 
the  people  turned  out  en  masse  at  Dunkirk  —  70 
miles  north  of  Columbus,  on  the  T.  &  O.  C. — to 
greet  Billy  Sunday  Tuesday  afternoon  when  he 
changed  trains  on  his  way  here  from  Winona  Lake. 

An  automobile  met  him  at  the  station  and 
whirled  him  to  the  biggest  church  in  the  town.  It 
was  packed  to  capacity  when  he  arrived.  He  threw 
off  his  hat  and  fur  overcoat  and  plunged  at  once  into 
a  fiery  sermon.  Almost  before  he  knew  it  he  had 
preached  45  minutes.  He  gave  a  call  for  converts 
and  12  "hit  the  trail" — not  on  saw  dust,  but  on 
Brussels  carpet  in  the  church. 

When  the  time  drew  near  for  his  train,  Billy 
hurried  from  the  church,  but  not  until  he  had 
shaken  hands  with  half  the  people  of  Dunkirk.  "If 
I  go  home  next  Sunday  night  I'll  stop  over  here 
again  next  Tuesday,  and  preach  for  you,"  Billy 
told  them.  Then  they  cheered  him.  A  big  crowd 
followed  his  auto  to  the  depot,  where  they  waved 
good-bye  as  the  train  pulled  away  for  Columbus. 

"You  people  don't  appreciate  half  what  the 
newspapers  are  doing  to  spread  the  Gospel  in  this 
campaign,"  said  Mr.  Sunday  Tuesday  night,  at  the 
tabernacle  in  telling  of  his  Dunkirk  meeting.  "For 
100  miles  in  every  direction  from  Columbus  they're 
reading  of  these  wonderful  meetings  and  are  be- 
ing aroused."  . 

The  ministers  of  Dunkirk,  by  long  distance 
phone  had  arranged  for  the  meeting  with  Sunday 
before  he  left  Winona  Lake,  Tuesday  morning. 
"I'll  stop  anywhere  between  trains  to  preach  God's 
word  and  save  souls,"  said  Billy  to  his  tabernacle 
audience. 

On  another  occasion  to  gratify  the  beautiful  little 
city  of  Marysville,  30  miles  from  Columbus,  Mr. 
Sunday  denied  himself  his  usual  morning's  rest,  and 


154  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

by  use  of  a  special  train,  in  each  direction,  was  able 
to  reach  the  place,  preach  to  3,000  people  who  were 
packed  in  the  largest  building,  which  the  town  pos- 
sesses (a  factory),  and  return  to  Columbus  in  time 
for  his  afternoon  service. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  campaign,  in  which  three 
meetings  occupied  the  entire  day  from  9 130  in  the 
morning  until  almost  1 1  in  the  evening  the  Ohio  State 
Journal,  and  afterwards  the  Literary  Digest  quoting 
it,  said: 

Eclipsing  all  previous  evangelistic  records  in 
point  of  numbers  of  converts  and  in  funds  raised 
by  free-will  offering  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
revivalist,  Rev.  Billy  Sunday  wound  up  his  seven 
weeks'  campaign  in  Columbus  yesterday  with  five 
rousing  meetings,  in  which  2,231  people  hit  the 
sawdust  trail  and  $20,795  poured  into  the  hands 
of  the  tellers  in  checks,  greenbacks,  gold  and 
glittering  piles  of  small  change. 

Scenes  of  the  greatest  dramatic  moment 
marked  the  closing  hours  of  the  campaign  at  the 
huge  tabernacle,  which  for  a  stretch  of  seven  weeks 
had  been  jammed  with  throngs  of  earnest  listeners. 

Thunders  of : 

"God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again 

Keep  love's  banner  floating  o'er  you, 

Smite  death's  threatening  wave  before  you," 

died  away  among  the  rafters  of  the  Billy  Sunday 
tabernacle;  one  by  one  the  lights  went  out,  one  by 
one  farewells  were  said,  the  evangelist  and  his 
wife,  and  then  the  helpers  departed. 

But  many  lingered,  loath  to  see  the  end  of 
the  day  whose  six  monster  meetings  including  one 
at  the  penitentiary,  were  attended  by  40,000  per- 
sons who  listened  to  the  Preached  Word ;  when 


SOME   GREATER   CAMPAIGNS  155 

more  than  2,000  confessed  conversion  and  nearly 
$21,000  was  collected,  and  which  brought  to  a  close 
the  seven  weeks  campaign  that  had  shaken  Co- 
lumbus as  nothing  religious  ever  had  shaken  it ; 
which  brought  18,000  persons  to  make  personal  and 
public  confession  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and 
which  gave  to  Columbus  last  evening,  every  record 
in  modern  evangelism. 

Everyone  was  tired,  everyone  was  happy, 
everyone  was  satisfied.  So  pleased  were  those  in 
attendance  at  one  meeting  yesterday,  that  a  resolu- 
tion asking  Rev.  Mr.  Sunday  to  return  to  Co- 
lumbus was  adopted  with  a  cheer. 

For  more  than  seven  weeks  hundreds  of  busi- 
ness men  had  neglected  their  private  affairs,  for 
an  equal  period  social  engagements  were  dis- 
regarded or  sidetracked;  for  that  length  of  time 
60  churches  had  closed  their  doors,  their  pastors 
had  devoted  the  bulk  of  their  time  to  advancing 
the  work  of  campaign  and  during  all  those  days, 
Rev.  Billy  Sunday,  the  baseball  evangelist,  had 
talked  and  prayed,  sweated  and  pranced  about  the 
platform,  besought  and  entreated  the  sinners,  flayed 
with  scathing  invectives  every  sort  of  wickedness 
and  endeared  himself  personally  to  multitudes  who 
either  had  been  openly,  or  covertly,  antagonistic. 
Under  the  spell  of  this  oratory  and  the  persuasive 
influence  of  his  co-workers,  all  manner  of  men  were 
made  to  take  a  new  view  of  life.  City  and  county 
officials,  saloonkeepers  and  professors,  society 
women  and  shop  girls,  school  children  and  avowed 
agnostics,  stood  up  and  said  "I  publicly  accept  Jesus 
Christ  as  my  personal  Savior." 

There  were  held  95  tabernacle  meetings,  at  all 
but  two  of  which  Mr.  Sunday  spoke.  At  these 
meetings  there  were  present  between  750,000  and 
one  million  people.  The  total  number  of  cards 
signed  was  18,333  greater  than  any  number  ever 
secured  in  this  country  in  a  like  period  of  time  by 


156  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

Rev.    Mr.    Sunday,    or,    it    is    said,    by   any    other 
evangelist. 

The  assistants  were  the  same  with  the  addition 
of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Asher  and  Wm.  Collison. 

"The  interest  of  the  newspapers  of  the  city 
throughout  the  campaign  was  intense.  On  the  final 
Sunday,  for  instance.  The  ColumbusDispatch  moved 
its  entire  news  gathering  staff  of  20  men  to  the  taber- 
nacle. A  "city  news  room"  was  established  in  the 
Railway  Y.  M.  C.  A.  adjoining,  in  charge  of  Manag- 
ing Editor  Johnson  and  City  Editor  Rieker.  The 
staff  reporters  were  assigned  to  duty  in  different  parts 
of  the  tabernacle,  in  the  temporary  bank  in  the  base- 
ment, in  the  crowds  that  thronged  the  outside,  etc. 
They  worked  throughout  the  day  and  night  and  at 
daylight  Monday  issued  an  "extra"  giving  a  complete 
history  of  the  wonderful  day — several  pages  in  all. 
They  sold  by  the  thousands,  like  the  traditional  "hot 
cakes." 

Immediately  following  Columbus,  Mr.  Sunday 
opened  a  series  of  meetings  at  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa.,  the 
farthest  East  of  any  district  in  which  he  had  ever 
worked.  The  campaign  opened  on  Washington's 
Birthday — February  22 — 1913.  Rev.  W.  M.  Randies, 
pastor  of  the  Bethesda  Congregational  church,  gives 
the  number  of  converts  as  16,548,  and  the  free-will 
offering  as  $23,527.66.  In  only  this  one  respect  did 
the  Wilkes-Barre  campaign  exceed  that  of  Columbus 
and  the  amount  remains  at  the  present  time  the  record 
sum  raised  at  the  conclusion  of  any  one  series  of 
meetings.  Rev.  Mr.  Randies  in  commenting  on  the 
number  of  conversions  says: 


SOME   GREATER   CAMPAIGNS  157 

With  regard  to  the  number  of  converts,  this 
needs  to  be  said,  quite  a  number  were  members 
going  forward  to  take  others  forward,  some  were 
members  that  by  this  expressed  a  desire  to  reach 
"higher  ground"  or  to  leave  out  of  their  lives 
things  that  they  had  been  led  to  see  were  wrong. 
Some  pastors  report  a  number  of  duplications,  some 
of  the  duplicate  cards  bearing  different  dates  (I 
think  this  came  thru  new  converts  taking  others 
forward  a  little  later  and  thus  being  counted  twice.) 
On  the  other  hand  this  does  not  count  the  large 
number  converted  in  the  weeks  following  the  meet- 
ing. As  an  example  my  church  received  184  cards, 
yet  to  date  we  have  added  240  to  full  communion, 
almost  all  of  which  can  be  said  to  have  been  the 
result  of  the  meeting.  I  think  that  a  very  con- 
servative estimate  would  be  that  15,000  were  added 
to  the  churches  of  the  Wyoming  Valley. 

South  Bend,  Indiana,  concluded  the  range  of  Mr. 
Sunday's  activities  prior  to  the  summer  rest  for  1913. 
The  meetings  there  opened  April  27  and  concluded 
June  15.  The  accepted  number  of  converts  16,398 
and  the  free-will  offering  $11,200.  The  assistants 
were  the  same  as  those  who  participated  in  Columbus, 
excepting  Mr.  Collison. 

Wilbur  R.  Armstrong  of  the  South  Bend  Tribune. 
who  observed  the  entire  campaign,  makes  the  follow- 
ing comment: 

If  the  Creator  had  seen  fit  to  make  50  Billy 
Sundays  simultaneously  instead  of  but  one,  I  am 
firmly  of  the  opinion  that  the  army  of  Christianity 
would  shortly  become  the  most  formidable  or- 
ganization the  world  has  ever  known.  That  number 
of  evangelists  of  the  Billy  Sunday  type  with  his 
organization  behind  them  could  revolutionize  the 


158  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

world  big  as  it  is.  The  baseball  evangelist  is  un- 
doubtedly the  most  remarkable  preacher  of  his  age 
and  the  whole  truth  in  regard  to  the  effective  work 
he  is  doing  never  has,  and  probably  never  will  be 
known.  Much  of  the  benefits  of  a  Sunday  cam- 
paign are  buried  in  the  young  boy,  the  young  girl, 
the  home,  society  and  business  and  the  general 
public  will  never  be  able  to  secure  all  the  facts — 
and  it  is  not  necessary. 

Billy  Sunday  undoubtedly  has  as  many  true 
friends  and  as  many  bitter  enemies  as  any  man  in 
America  today.  His  friends  know  him  largely 
through  his  unusual  work,  and  his  enemies  know 
him  as  a  destroyer  of  their  particular  business  or 
an  enemy  of  their  particular  acts,  or  they  are  totally 
ignorant  of  the  man.  Some  of  his  most  bitter  op- 
ponents in  South  Bend  would  not  have  gone  near 
one  of  his  meetings  for  $5,000,  much  as  they  love 
gold.  It  made  them  purple  in  the  face  if  they  were 
so  much  as  invited  to  his  tabernacle,  so  afraid 
were  they  that  they  might  change  their  opinion  of 
him.  The  best  estimate  of  the  baseball  evangelist  I 
have  ever  heard  was  made  by  Joseph  D.  Oliver, 
Indiana's  plow  magnate.  He  said :  "There  is 
nothing  better  in  men  than  Billy  Sunday  himself, 
and  few  things  worse  than  his  imitators." 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  GLADDEN-SUNDAY  CONTROVERSY 

All  evangelists  misunderstood  —  Some  historic  examples 
—  Opposition  of  Dr.  Washington  Gladden  —  Origin 
of  the  difficulty  —  Dr.  Gladden  quoted  in  The  Congre- 
gationalist  —  Higher  criticism  considered  —  Dissen- 
tion  produces  profound  sensation  —  Resolutions  of 
the  Evangelical  Association  —  Resume  of  the  Colum- 
bus conflict  —  Tempermental  differences  of  Mr.  Sun- 
day and  Dr.  Gladden  —  Wisdom  of  silence. 

159 


// 


/'//•// 

•t  .'t4il-.ii    ' 


THE  SILENT  Vow. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


UNIFORMLY  it  has  been  the  fate  of  great  men 
to  be  misunderstood.  The  lowly  Nazarene  as 
He  walked  by  the  waters  of  Galilee  or  preached 
on  the  mountain  sides  was  no  exception.  History  be- 
fore His  time  had  recorded  others  only  slightly  less 
unfortunate.  Those  who  have  followed  in  His  foot- 
steps with  more  or  less  vigor  and  courage  have  met 
with  the  same  misapprehension. 

There  is  a  saying  that  men  are  known  by  the 
caliber  of  the  opposition  they  meet.  Armies  are  not 
put  in  the  field  to  crush  a  handful  of  riotous  school 
boys.  The  giant  forces  of  intellect  do  not  concern 
themselves  seriously  with  the  vagaries  of  disordered 
minds  which  crop  out  in  various  freak  sects  and  isms. 

Charles  G.  Phinney  the  evangelist  who  is  so  often 
quoted  and  praised  by  Rev.  W.  A.  Sunday,  was 
severely  criticised  by  the  famous  Dr.  Beecher  and 
others  because  of  the  methods  he  employed.  John 
Wesley  from  1739  to  the  close  of  life  was  persecuted 
and  annoyed ;  not  alone  by  the  magistrates,  but  by  the 
clergymen  of  his  country,  and  these  differences  ex- 
tended into  his  own  family  and  threatened  the  natural 
ties  which  bound  him  to  his  brother  Charles.  George 
Whitfield  could  not  agree  with  his  great  friend  Wes- 
ley, and  papers  and  tracts  were  continually  published 
against  him  although  he  conducted  wonderfully  suc- 
cessful evangelical  campaigns  both  in  England  and 
America.  The  friendship  which  existed  between 
11  161 


162  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

Whitfield  and  John  Wesley  was  at  one  time  actually 
broken  and  for  a  long  time  seriously  impaired  by  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  which  they  held  upon  church 
government. 

It  is  not  strange  therefore  that  W.  A.  Sunday 
should  come  in  agitated  conflict  with  some  of  the 
leaders  in  church  work  everywhere  he  goes.  It  re- 
mained, however,  for  episodes  growing  out  of  the 
campaign  in  Columbus  to  attract  international  atten- 
tion to  develop  what  has  come  to  be  known  as  the 
Gladden-Sunday  controversy.  This  controversy  was 
taken  up,  not  only  in  the  columns  of  the  church 
papers,  chief  of  which  was  the  Congregationalist,  but 
was  caught  up  by  the  secular  press  everywhere  and 
given  extraordinary  space  and  attention. 

Dr.  Gladden  is  probably  the  greatest  church  au- 
thority and  the  most  powerful  intellect  who  ever  set 
himself  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Sunday  and  his  works. 
A  dispassionate  survey  of  the  results  is  almost  im- 
possible at  the  present  time  (November  1913).  Cer- 
tain features  that  are  easily  apparent,  point  to  a  divided 
result.  One  thing  conclusively  established  by  the  con- 
troversy was  the  tremendous  loyalty  of  those  who 
had  been  most  intimately  associated  with  Mr.  Sunday 
in  his  several  campaigns.  Opposite  to  this  was  the 
unquestioned  fact  that  Dr.  Gladden's  attitude  and 
reasoning  withheld  from  Mr.  Sunday  a  call  to  In- 
dianapolis and  possibly  other  cities.  More  serious 
than  anything  else,  however,  was  the  strife  and  dissen- 
sion which  the  controversy  provoked  among  the  less 
intellectual  and  more  bitterly  partisan  of  church  work- 
ers on  either  side.  Both  parties  to  the  disagreement, 
so  far  as  they  were  individually  concerned,  let  the 


THE   GLADDEN-SUNDAY    CONTROVERSY  163 

matter  drop  when  their  side  had  been  given  to  the 
public. 

Mr.  Sunday  himself  never  took  part  in  the  dis- 
cussion. Whatever  was  said  in  his  behalf  was  made 
public  by  friends  who  may,  or  may  not,  have  been 
fully  authorized  in  the  premises.  At  no  time  did  Mr. 
Sunday  in  any  of  his  public  addresses  mention  Dr. 
Gladden  by  name,  and  such  publications  as  appeared 
coupling  the  two  names  were  due  to  unauthorized  re- 
pi  eduction  of  essentially  personal  conversation. 

On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Gladden  who  had  opposed 
the  coming  of  Mr.  Sunday  to  Columbus  maintained 
the  strictest  silence  after  this  had  been  determined 
upon.  At  no  time  during  the  Columbus  campaign  did 
he  do  or  say  anything  which  could  be  construed  as 
opposition,  unless  it  was  the  maintaining  of  his  reg- 
ular Sunday  services.  His  first  public  utterance  ap- 
peared in  the  issue  of  the  Congregationalist  May  29, 
more  than  three  months  following  the  close  of  the 
Sunday  campaign  in  Columbus.  Because  of  Dr.  Glad- 
den's  international  prominence  in  the  Congregation- 
alist fold  and  in  the  educational  and  religious  world 
generally  this  article  provoked  the  most  wide-spread 
discussion. 

Dr.  Gladden's  article  appeared  in  response  to  hun- 
dreds of  requests  poured  in  upon  him  from  all  sources 
where  a  Sunday  campaign  was  contemplated.  The 
letters  came  from  people  who  differed  from  the  evan- 
gelist in  his  methods.  Leaving  out  of  account  for  the 
moment  the  differences  in  personality,  which  in  them- 
selves would  have  made  any  co-operation  between 
these  two  men  impossible,  it  is  of  importance  to  know 
first  Dr.  Gladden's  attitude  on  some  of  the  doctrines 


164  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

which  Mr.  Sunday  preaches.  In  his  paper  entitled 
"The  Trouble  About  Billy  Sunday",  published  May 
29,  1913,  in  the  Congregationalist,  Dr.  Gladden  says: 

The  intolerance  and  violence  which  are  the 
native  breath  of  Mr.  Sunday  furnish  the  first  and 
strongest  reason  for  refusing  to  work  with  him. 
/'  In  his  first  or  second  day  in  Columbus  Mr.  Sunday 
said,  "The  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brotherhood 
of  Man  is  the  worst  rot  that  ever  was  dug  out  of 
hell,  and  every  minister  who  preaches  it  is  a  liar." 
I  could  hardly  believe  my  eyes  when  I  read  it,  but 
I  made  very  sure  that  he  had  said  it,  and  the  same 
thing  was  said  in  substance  over  and  over.  I  do 
not  wish  to  pass  judgment  on  the  ministers  who 
listened,  without  protest,  to  that;  I  know  what 
their  excuses  were;  but  I  could  not,  without  for- 
feiting my  self-respect,  have  attended  those  services 
until,  those  words  had  been  withdrawn  and  humbly 
apologized  for. 

Such  language  was  repeated  every  day.  Every 
man  whose  opinions  differ  from  those  of  Mr.  Sun- 
day is  a  liar;  every  day  he  mounts  the  judgment 
seat  of  the  universe  and  sends  men  by  scores  to  the 
right  hand  and  to  the  left — mostly  to  the  left. 
Statistics — of  a  sort — were  kept  of  the  number  of 
"conversion";  but  of  the  number  of  those  sent 
to  hell,  by  name,  no  record,  I  believe,  was  made. 
It  is  a  great  omission ;  for  that  is  a  large  part  of 
the  business. 

All  evolutionists  are  consigned  to  hell.  Mr. 
Sunday  names  one  by  one,  those  whom  he  supposes 
to  be  evolutionists,  and  with  a  dramatic  gesture 
flings  each  of  them  into  perdition.  "There  goes 
old  Darwin !  He's  in  hell  sure !"  And  the  en- 
raptured audience  yells  its  applause,  as  one  evolu- 
tionist after  another  is  dropped  into  the  fiery  pit. 
A  staid  Methodist  preacher,  who  watched  this  per- 
formance, said  afterwards,  "I  would  never  have  be- 


1 


THE   GLADDEN-SUNDAY    CONTROVERSY  165 

lieved,  if  I  had  not  seen  it,  that  an  audience  of 
civilized  Americans  could  show  such  a  spirit  as 
that."  The  scene  at  a  Spanish  bull  fight  is  really, 
when  you  think  of  it  it,  less  horrible. 

It  is  well  known  to  church  workers  that  Dr.  Glad- 
den is  a  consistent  believer  in  the  theory  of  evolution 
as  it  applies  to  all  life,  including  the  spiritual  life,  and 
both  his  writings  and  his  preaching  make  this  clear. 
This  sufficiently  explains  his  objection  to  the  doctrine 
which  Mr.  Sunday  preaches. 

Another  thing  to  which  Dr.  Gladden  objects  is 
what  he  calls  the  commercial  feature  of  the  Sunday 
campaigns.  Concerning  this  phase  the  article  above 
quoted  goes  on  to  say : 

The  commercial  feature  of  this  "evangelism" 
is  also  a  serious  matter.  It  is  far  truer  today  than 
when  Paul  said  it,  that  the  love  of  money  is  the 
root  of  all  kinds  of  evil;  and  the  warning  of 
Jesus,  "Take  heed  and  beware  of  covetousness,"  is 
counsel  which  was  never  before  so  pertinent.  It  is 
the  one  vice  of  which  a  Christian  teacher  should 
never  be  suspected.  Mr.  Sunday  sets  all  that  counsel 
at  defiance.  It  is  notorious  that  he  is  making  him- 
self rich  in  this  business  of  evangelism.  At  a  con- 
ference of  evangelists  held  in  Chicago  last  summer 
one  of  the  younger  men  told  of  counsel  which  had 
been  given  him  as  to  methods  of  work  by  "one  of 
the  leading  evangelists."  Among  other  things  this 
leading  evangelist  had  said  to  him,  "I've  got  all 
those  other  fellows  skinned  a  mile  in  the  free-will 
offering."  The  name  of  this  leading  evangelist  was 
not  given.  Dr.  Chapman  thinks  it  should  have  been, 
and  so  do  I.  Only  one  man  could  have  truthfully 
said  it. 

Mr.  Sunday  takes  out  of  every  considerable 
city  which  he  visits,  for  an  eight  weeks'  service, 


166  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

money  enough  to  pay  the  average  Congregational 
minister's  salary  for  twenty  years ;  and  his  year's 
accumulation  would  support  one  hundred  foreign 
missionaries.  He  is  not  reticent  about  this ;  he 
preaches  about  it  frequently  and  defiantly;  he  in- 
sists that  it  is  nobody's  business  how  much  money 
he  makes  or  what  he  does  with  it. 

Returning  to  the  Sunday  doctrines,  Dr.  Gladden 
sums  them  up  in  the  following  paragraph : 

As  for  the  doctrine  taught,  it  is  the  most  hope- 
less form  of  mediaeval  substitutionism.  Salvation 
is  a  matter  of  contract;  hell  is  a  literal  pit  of  fire 
and  brimstone;  the  Bible  is  verbally  infallible; 
every  man  who  teaches  the  Higher  Criticism  is  a 
liar.  Any  minister  who  disputes  any  of  Mr.  Sun- 
day's dogmas  is  leading  his  people  to  hell ;  Edward 
Everett  Hale  is  undoubtedly  in  hell.  Adventism  of 
the  most  crass  variety  is  unflinchingly  proclaimed ; 
the  world  is  going  to  hell  as  fast  as  it  can ;  all  talk 
about  improving  social  conditions  is  rot. 

Since  Dr.  Gladden  is  admittedly  one  of  the 
leaders  in  the  Higher  Criticism  and  was  for  many 
years  a  personal  friend  of  Edward  Everett  Hale  his 
sense  of  resentment  toward  what  he  understood  Mr. 
Sunday's  attitude  to  be  is  not  hard  to  understand. 

Concerning  the  Gladden  article  which  it  printed, 
the  Congregationalist  said  editorialy,  in  the  same  is- 
sue: 

Dr.  Gladden's  powerful  arraignment  of  Mr. 
Sunday  will  undoubtedly  convince  many  that  he  is 
a  man  whose  methods  and  spirit  disqualify  him 
for  effective  Christian  service.  Others  will  con- 
tinue to  feel  perplexed  and  almost  baffled  in  their 
endeavor  fairly  to  appraise  him  and  his  work.  We 
have  never  thought  of  him,  for  an  instant,  as  one 


THE   GLADDEN-SUNDAY   CONTROVERSY  167 

to  whom  we  could  point  as  a  model  for  young 
people.  He  is  far  from  being  the  best  illustration 
of  the  graces  and  virtues  Christianity  is  supposed 
to  engender  when  given  a  fair  chance  in  the  human 
heart.  What  we  have  said  and  what  we  are  dis- 
posed to  reiterate  is,  that  judging  by  what  he  has 
done  throughout  the  Western  country,  he  has  ap- 
parently been  the  means  of  bringing  into  the  Chris- 
tian life  multitudes  who,  humanly  speaking,  would 
never  have  been  converted.  As  one  of  his  own 
converts  wrote  us  the  other  day,  "The  more  I  hear 
and  see  of  Mr.  Sunday  the  more  I  wonder  at  the 
instruments  God  uses  for  accomplishing  his  pur- 
poses." Ultimately  we  are  all  brought  to  one  or 
the  other  conclusion.  Either  Mr.  Sunday  is  a  harm- 
ful and  devastating  force  whose  influence  blights 
every  spot  it  touches,  or  else,  despite  his  glaring 
faults,  he  is  a  man  whom  God,  for  reasons  which 
we  cannot  explain,  sees  fit  to  use  for  bringing  many 
persons  into  obedience  to  Jesus  Christ. 

God  does  not  lodge  all  his  gifts  in  one  man. 
Some  men  in  the  pastorate  repel  those  whom  their 
successors  win.  Mr.  Bruce  Barton,  in  the  article 
which  started  this  discussion,  rightly  said  that  the 
question  of  Mr.  Sunday  is  wrapped  in  the  larger 
question  of  the  wisdom  of  all  kinds  of  special 
evangelistic  effort.  Many  a  good  movement  in  the 
Kingdom  is  followed  by  reaction  and  disppoint- 
ment.  Varied  indeed  are  the  modern  manifesta- 
tions of  religion  and  some  of  its  outstanding  ex- 
ponents sometimes  not  only  offend  our  tastes,  but 
cross  our  most  cherished  convictions.  We  have 
sought  in  our  recent  exploitation  of  Mr.  Sunday 
chiefly  to  fulfill  our  function  as  a  religious  news- 
paper confronted  with  a  remarkable  phenomenon 
in  the  field  of  current  religious  life  rather  than 
to  attack  or  defend  him.  Either  of  these  courses 
might  be  easier  than  to  try  and  weigh  the  evidence 
concerning  him  and  his  methods  and  to  reach  a 
conclusion  just  to  him  and  all  the  issue  involved. 


168  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

These  publications,  coming  almost  without  warn- 
ing, produced  the  most  profound  sensation  in  the  news- 
papers in  the  cities  where  Mr.  Sunday  had  conducted 
a  campaign  and  where  Congregationalists  composed 
any  considerable  portion  of  the  population.  Mr.  Sun- 
day declined  to  make  any  reply  and  even  said  to  friends 
that  he  had  never  read  the  arraignment,  knowing  its 
contents  only  by  hearsay.  His  enthusiastic  support- 
ers, however,  manifested  no  such  control  of  their 
tongues  or  their  emotions.  The  ministers  conference, 
of  which  Dr.  Gladden  was  a  member,  was  sadly  di- 
vided. The  Evangelical  Association  under  the  aus- 
pices of  which  the  Columbus  campaign  had  been  con- 
ducted printed  and  had  distributed  a  pamphlet  giving 
its  side  of  the  argument. 

The  co-operating  pastors  of  the  churches  in  Co- 
lumbus adopted  the  following  series  of  resolution : 

As  co-operating  pastors  in  the  recent  evan- 
gelistic campaign  held  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  by  the 
Rev.  William  A.  Sunday,  we  hereby  deprecate  the 
unchristian  spirit  prompting  the  recent  published 
attack  upon  Mr.  Sunday  and  his  methods  of  work, 
by  a  local  pastor  who  bitterly  opposed  his  coming 
to  our  city  and  who  was  NOT  PRESENT  at  a 
single  service  during  the  campaign. 

We  protest  against  his  article  as  being  a  mis- 
representation of  the  facts  and  fruits  of  the  cam- 
paign, and  especially  would  we  repudiate  the  state- 
ment that  Mr.  Sunday's  doctrine  was  "the  most 
hopeless  form  of  medieval  substitutionism;  salva- 
tion a  matter  of  contract;  hell  a  literal  pit  of  fire 
and  brimstone;  the  Bible  verbally  infallible." 

Most  emphatically  do  we  declare  against  the 
following  statement :  "The  evils  of  the  movement 
are,  the  lowering  of  men's  sentiments  of  reverence, 


THE   GLADDEN-SUNDAY    CONTROVERSY  169 

the  blunting  of  their  finer  sensibilities,  the  stimulat- 
ing of  their  uncharitableness  and  censoriousness,  the 
commercializing  of  their  ideas  of  Christian  service 
and  reward,  the  blinding  of  their  intellects  by  an 
immoral  theology." 

We  believe  in  Mr.  Sunday  as  a  man  of  God, 
chosen  to  do  what  no  man  in  this  generation  has 
been  able  to  accomplish,  in  elucidating  the  funda- 
mentals of  religion  as  set  forth  by  Jesus  Christ  the 
Son  of  God. 

We  believe  the  Columbus  campaign,  in  far- 
reaching  and  lasting  results,  is  the  most  -successful 
in  every  way  of  any  in  modern  times. 

Dr.  Gladden  is  a  man  of  wonderful  personality, 
beloved  by  all  who  know  him.  His  acquaintance  is 
not  so  readily  made  as  that  of  the  evangelist,  but  is 
prized  by  every  man  who  enjoys  it.  His  friends  and 
supporters  are  as  loyal  as  those  who  follow  any  man 
living.  Yet,  a  number  of  them  found  it  convenient 
to  be  present  at  several  of  the  Sunday  meetings,  and, 
like  most  people  who  took  the  trouble,  were  disabused 
of  the  prejudice  which  they  had  entertained. 

In  the  30  odd  years  of  his  residence  in  Columbus, 
Dr.  Gladden,  has  contributed  a  service  to  the  city 
which  is  immeasurable;  not  appreciated  by  some,  be- 
cause they  are  by  nature  not  sufficiently  endowed  to 
participate  in  it.  No  matter  how  successfully  any 
evangelist  might  riddle  evolution  and  the  evolutionists, 
to  his  own  satisfaction,  there  are  still  hundreds  of  in- 
telligent men  and  women  who  are  persuaded  of  the 
general  truth  of  that  theory  and  who  are  loath  to  sur- 
render their  belief  in  the  Bible  and  their  faith  in  God. 
To  such  number,  peculiarly  large  in  a  university  town, 
Dr.  Gladden  has  performed  an  unspeakable  service. 


170  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  vain  to  deny  that  Rev. 
Mr.  Sunday  in  the  course  of  seven  weeks  accom- 
plished in  Columbus  some  things  which  no  one  church, 
or  all  the  churches  together,  had  been  able  to  bring 
about.  For  this  it  is  possible  to  leave  out  of  consid- 
eration the  large  number  of  accessions  due  to  dis- 
puted conversions ;  one  of  the  debated  points  between 
the  two  leaders. 

The  strong  sentiment  aroused  by  Rev.  Mr.  Sun- 
day resulted  in  the  closing  of  all  up-town  retail  stores 
on  Saturday'  night.  The  evangelist  contended  that 
Saturday  night  stores  operated  against  Sunday  morn- 
ing church  attendance.  This  was  brought  about  by  the 
fact  that  a  prominent  merchant  was  an  officer  of  the 
evangelical  association  and  the  very  plain  speaking  of 
the  evangelist  made  it  apparent  to  him  that  he  was  not 
according  his  help  the  same  privileges  which  he  en- 
joyed. His  example  aided  and  abetted  by  public  sen- 
timent, brought  about  the  closing  of  practically  every 
large  store  in  Columbus  three  hours  earlier  on  Satur- 
day night  than  was  their  practice  previously.  This 
would  seem  like  civic  righteousness. 

Other  items,  which  were  not  considered  of  public 
interest,  have  come  under  personal  observation,  the 
direct  result  of  Rev.  Mr.  Sunday's  work  in  Columbus. 
A  number  of  business  men  voluntarily  increased  the 
wages  of  their  help,  particularly  the  women,  because 
of  the  vigorous  utterances  of  the  evangelist  on  the  sub- 
ject of  a  living  wage. 

In  a  larger  way  more  rigid  law  enforcements  re- 
sulted from  the  fact  that  the  chief  of  police  became  a 
follower  of  the  evangelist.  Saloons  and  drinking 
places  freely  admit  a  very  considerable  decrease  in 


THE   GLADDEN-SUNDAY    CONTROVERSY  171 

business,  not  only  during  the  campaign,  but  since  its 
conclusion. 

Dr.  Gladden  and  Mr.  Sunday  are  fundamentally 
different.  Each  is  sincere  in  his  convictions  that  the 
differences  of  belief  hold  them  apart.  Disinterested 
observers,  however,  incline  to  the  opinion  that  it  is 
temperament  rather  than  theology  that  separates  them. 

While  a  man  of  deep  and  tender  emotions,  Dr. 
Gladden  is  essentially  intellectual. 

While  a  man  of  very  considerable  intellectual  at- 
tainments, Rev.  Mr.  Sunday  is  essentially  emotional. 
He  has  the  advantage  in  this,  that  more  people  are 
controlled,  habitually,  through  the  emotions  than 
through  the  mind,  therfore,  he  has  the  lead  in  point  of 
supporters. 

Dr.  Gladden  has  said  that  it  is  too  early  to  judge 
definitely  the  result  of  Rev.  Mr.  Sunday's  work.  Yet, 
this  must  be  apparent;  either  good  can  come  of  evil, 
which  is  a  conclusion  most  men  are  loath  to  accept; 
or  else,  that  from  which  good  proceeds  must  be  itself 
worthy.  From  this  deduction  it  seems  impossible  to 
escape. 

No  one  regrets  that  Rev.  Mr.  Sunday  came  to 
Columbus. 

No  one  regrets  that  Dr.  Gladden  continues  to  re- 
side in  Columbus,  where  he  is  generally  esteemed  the 
first  citizen  of  the  city. 

The  only  regrettable  thing  is  that  two  wonderful 
forces  moving  through  a  very  fertile  field  could  not 
continue  their  beneficial  operations  without  coming  in 
to  conflict,  each  destroying  some  portion  of  the  good 
the  other  has  done. 


172  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

The  echoes  of  the  conflict  continued  throughout 
the  columns  of  the  public  press  for  many  weeks,  but 
the  last  considerable  announcement  was  in  the  nature 
of  a  letter  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Gladden  printed  in  the 
Columbus  Evening  Dispatch,  and  subsequently  repro- 
duced in  the  Congregationalist. 

In  this  letter  Dr.  Gladden  said : 

It  has  been  said  a  great  many  times  that  I 
had  no  right  to  oppose  Mr.  Sunday,  because  I  had 
never  heard  him;  that  my  judgment  had  been 
founded  on  hearsay.  This  is  simply  silly.  I  have 
never  been  in  a  house  of  prostitution  or  a  gambling 
den,  but  I  have  a  right  to  protest  against  them. 
With  respect  to  a  public  teacher  whose  works  are 
known  and  read  of  all  men,  every  man  has  a  right 
to  judge.  Mr.  Sunday's  sermons,  in  stenographic 
reports,  authorized  by  himself,  have  been  printed 
over  and  over  in  hundreds  of  newspapers.  He 
preaches  the  same  sermons  everywhere.  He  uses 
the  same  languages  everywhere.  The  bits  of  choice 
English  picked  out  and  printed  in  the  daily  press 
are  substantially  the  same  everywhere.  Mr.  Sunday 
has  never  repudiated  them;  on  the  contrary  he 
keeps  repeating  them. 

To  say  that  one  who  has  not  taken  pains  to 
inform  himself  with  respect  to  this  teaching  has  no 
right  to  express  an  opinion  of  Mr.  Sunday  as  a 
teacher  is  simply  fatuous.  To  a  public  teacher, 
surely,  the  judgment  of  Jesus  must  be  applied,  "By 
thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified  and  by  thv  words 
thou  shalt  be  condemned."  I  wonder  if  these 
brethren  have  never  expressed  an  adverse  judgment 
respecting  teachers  whom  they  have  never  heard.  I 
doubt  if  any  of  them  ever  heard  Thomas  Paine,  or 
Robert  Ingersoll,  or  Mary  Baker  Eddy  or  the  Pope; 
and  yet  I  am  sure  that  they  would  not  hesitate  to 
express  their  opinion  concerning  their  teachings. 


THE   GLADDEN-SUNDAY    CONTROVERSY  173 

Some  of  my  critics  accuse  me  of  the  same  in- 
tolerance as  that  of  which  I  complain  in  Mr.  Sun- 
day. I  think  that  my  neighbors  know  that  I  am 
not  intolerant.  I  have  never,  in  my  thirty  years 
in  Columbus,  called  in  question  any  man's  right  to 
speak  his  mind.  I  have  never  engaged  in  any  con- 
troversy on  religious  subjects.  I  have  never  re- 
plied to  criticisms  on  my  own  teaching.  But  when 
a  man  comes  into  town  and  spends  seven  weeks  in 
preaching  and  teaching  and  practicing  intolerance, 
it  seems  to  be  necessary  to  raise  a  voice  against  it. 
There  is  just  one  thing  that  a  tolerant  mind  can- 
not tolerate,  and  that  is  intolerance.  That  ought 
to  be  plain  without  a  diagram.  But  if  one  is  needed, 
here  it  is: 

"For  I  am  in  love  with  love, 
And  the  sole  thing  I  hate  is  hate; 
For  hate  is  the  unpardonable  sin, 
And    love    is    the    Holy    Ghost   within." 

Gradually  the  sober  minded  men  of  the  church 
realized  that  no  possible  good  could  come  of  the  con- 
tinued argument.  There  was  none  who  could  directly 
refute  the  plain  statements  made  by  Dr.  Gladden.  On 
the  other  hand  they  were  confronted  with  the  fact  of 
largely  increased  church  membership,  with  church  ac- 
tivity on  the  part  of  men  and  women,  but  particularly 
men,  who  never  had  given  time  or  thought  to  anything 
concerning  the  church  or  the  things  for  which  the 
church  stands.  Through  the  efforts  of  these  lay-mem- 
bers conversions  continued  to  be  made  and  accessions 
were  made  to  church  membership  in  a  manner  that  was 
highly  gratifying  to  the  leading  laborers  in  the  Vine- 
yard. 

With  the  passing  of  weeks  and  months  by  tacit 
consent  the  Gladden-Sunday  controversy  became  a 


174  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

closed  incident.  The  famous  First  Congregational 
Church  of  Columbus  went  on  to  bigger  and  finer  things 
under  the  administration  of  Dr.  Gladden,  while  the 
co-operating  churches  which  participated  in  the  Sun- 
day campaign  enjoyed  the  fruits  of  activity  and  spirit- 
ual blessings  which  they  never  had  known  before. 
The  differences  which  held  the  two  great  men  apart 
remain  unsettled. 


CHAPTER   XIV 


"MA" 

Value  of  her  advice  —  Traveling  and  maintaining  a  home 
at  the  same  time  —  A  woman's  view  of  the  woman  — 
Husband  amenable  to  wife  —  The  way  Mrs.  Sunday's 
days  are  crowded  —  The  power  of  Nell  —  The  silver 
wedding  anniversary  —  How  the  twain  are  one. 

175 


Orr-Kiefer  Studio. 

BILL'S   FAVORITE  PICTURE  OF  "MA." 


CHAPTER  XIV 


nO  account  of  the  career  and  achievements  of  Rev. 
W.  A.  Sunday  would  be  complete  or  accurate 
unless  it  made  full  recognition  of  the  part  Mrs. 
Sunday  has  had  in  both.  So  nearly  coincidental  are 
the  Christian  ministry  and  the  married  life  of  Mr. 
Sunday  that  a  separation  of  the  two  is  almost  impos- 
sible. It  is  doubtful  if  either  of  the  couple  realize 
the  amount  the  other  has  contributed  to  the  success  of 
the  work. 

Mr.  Sunday  was  married  about  a  year  after  his 
conversion,  but  before  he  began  actual  evangelical 
work.  Mrs.  Sunday,  therefore,  started  married  life, 
as  the  wife  of  a  base  ball  player.  This  involved  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  travel  and  a  variety  of  associations 
vastly  different  from  those  which  were  to  become  her 
everyday  experience. 

To  thousands  and  thousands  who  have  sat  be- 
neath the  spell  of  Mr.  Sunday's  voice,  Mrs.  Sunday  is 
affectionately  known  as  "Ma."  Nothing  could  be  more 
effective  and  at  the  same  time  a  finer  compliment  to 
the  woman  than  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Sunday  is 
wont  to  introduce  her  to  his  audience.  After  he  has 
presented  the  assistants,  and  the  choir  leader,  and  the 
soloists,  and  the  instrumentalist,  he  will  usually  end 
by  that  terse  phase  "and  this  is  Ma." 

It  means  everything  to  the  evangelist.  In  public 
and  in  private  he  is  generous  in  his  acknowledgment 
of  the  important  part  she  plays  in  all  his  work.  Essen- 

12  177 


178  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

tially  she  is  his  business  manager,  practically  she  is 
the  buffer  which  comes  between  the  preacher  and  the 
thousand  and  one  little  trials  of  life  which  do  so  much 
to  disturb  the  even  tenor  of  existence.  At  home  and 
abroad  Mr.  Sunday  remains  the  impetuous  sweetheart 
which  he  was  in  his  base  ball  days.  In  a  recent  cam- 
paign he  paid  this  tribute  to  Mrs.  Sunday : 

I've  never  yet  gone  contrary  to  Mrs.  Sun- 
day's advice  that  I  haven't  found  myself  up  against 
it.  Nell  wouldn't  take  first  prize  at  a  beauty  show, 
but  she's  got  more  good  horse  sense  than  any 
woman  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  And  I  think  she's 
the  most  beautiful  woman  I  ever  saw,  too. 

The  mother  of  four  children,  two  of  whom  are 
married,  Mrs.  Sunday  has  found  it  possible  to  spend  a 
great  deal  of  her  time  traveling  with  her  husband  at 
the  same  time  maintaining  a  home  for  him — first  at 
Chicago  and  later  at  Winona  Lake.  It  has  always 
been  open  and  ready  for  entertainment  on  a  moment's 
notice.  For  all  her  much  living  in  hotels  and  continued 
traveling,  meeting  with  business  men,  clergymen,  news- 
papermen and  others,  Mrs.  Sunday  has  preserved  that 
wonderful  fidelity  to  her  home  instincts,  and  is  in  every 
sense  a  home  woman,  quite  as  much  as  Mr.  Sunday  is 
a  home  man,  despite  the  little  opportunity  either  has 
had  to  enjoy  a  natural  inclination. 

A  charming  picture  of  the  life  of  the  evangelist 
and  his  wife  is  given  by  Miss  Julia  Brandon  Cole  in 
the  South  Bend  Tribune.  Miss  Cole  visited  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Sunday  at  their  home  and  giving  her  impression 
of  the  woman  says : 


"MA"  179 

Mrs.  Sunday  is  a  homely  women  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  old  English  word.  Plain  of  face,  com- 
fortable of  figure  and  characterized  by  a  sym- 
pathetic smile  and  the  kindest  eyes  in  the  world, 
her  entire  personality  breathes  quiet  efficiency. 

She  sat  before  the  broad  window  in  the  living 
room  of  her  home  looking  out  over  the  lake  the 
other  day  as  she  talked  about  the  coming  revival 
in  South  Bend  and  experiences  which  the  party 
has  had  in  other  towns.  About  her  things  were  in 
confusion  for  the  household  was  cleaning  house 
in  true  old  fashioned  manner. 

Although  the  two  boys  were  excitedly  watch- 
ing dust  gather  in  the  glass  jar  of  a  vacuum  cleaner, 
seriously  hampering  the  manipulator  and  the  maid 
was  rushing  about  superintending  odd  jobs  of  the 
men  of  the  Sunday  party  who  were  spending  a  few 
days  at  the  cottage,  the  confusion  seemed  to  fall 
away  from  her.  Matters  referred  continually  to 
her  were  disposed  of  instantly  with  quiet  decision 
and  without  interrupting  the  thread  of  her  talk. 

With  a  feeling  of  sympathy  for  the  house- 
wife whose  home  program  must  be  continually  dis- 
arranged by  the  constant  moving  from  point  to 
point  I  asked  if  she  objected  to  the  frequent  up- 
heaval of  moving  about.  Here  I  received  the  first 
insight  into  an  attitude  which  fairly  permeates  the 
entire  household  and  party. 

"Why,  no,"  with  a  smile  of  genuine  surprise, 
"it  is  necessary,  so  I  accept  it  as  a  matter  of  course." 

Her  tone  held  something  of  reproof  and  I 
hastened  to  explain  that  in  putting  up  preserves 
and  caring  for  household  matters  must  of  neces- 
sity be  difficult  under  such  conditions. 

"People  should  just  see  my  provision  closet," 
she  laughed,  "I  guess  they  would  admit  I  don't  let 
my  family  starve." 

"Mamma  where's  my  tennis  racket?"  this  from 
young  Billy,  and  she  arose  hastily  to  produce  the 
lost  traps. 


180  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

As  she  seated  herself  again  she  fell  to  chatting 
about  revival  reminiscences. 

"You  know  about  75  per  cent  of  the  church 
membership  are  women  which  would  indicate  that 
they  are  more  easily  reached  than  men.  But  in 
revival  work  I  believe  a  man's  heart  is  touched 
more  quickly  than  a  woman. 

"A  woman  once  reached,  however,  will  not  rest 
until  the  men  she  is  interested  in,  her  husband,  her 
brother,  father  or  her  sweetheart,  have  been  con- 
verted. Nine  out  of  10  women  have  unconverted 
husbands  and  with  tears  in  their  eyes  their  first 
request  will  be  that  we  pray  for  their  husband. 

"It  is  seldom  that  a  woman  will  grow 
hysterical  in  the  audience,  improbable  as  that  may 
first  appear.  Generally  hysteria  or  fainting  may  be 
traced  to  physical  or  nervous  condition. 

"No  disturbance  is  allowed,  anyhow,  from 
such  incidents.  If  a  woman  faints  or  a  baby 
cries,  there  is  a  trained  corps  of  ushers  who  take 
them  out  immediately  before  the  interruption  can 
break  the  attention  of  the  audience.  Crying  babies 
are  about  the  only  thing  Mr.  Sunday  is  really  fussy 
about. 

"He  never  allows  scoffing  or  argument  during 
the  course  of  a  meeting  he  just  says  'two  can't 
talk  at  once,  and  I'm  on  the  job'  and  refuses  to  al- 
low any  discussion." 

While  Miss  Cole  was  interviewing  Mrs.  Sunday 
the  evangelist  came  into  the  house  clad  in  his  outdoor 
togs  and  after  his  fashion  entered  at  once  into  the  con- 
.versation.  Miss  Cole  asked  him  among  other  things 
whether  it  were  true,  as  had  been  reported,  that  he  em- 
ployes detectives  previous  to  conducting  a  campaign 
in  a  city.  She  thus  details  what  happened : 


181 


"That's  one  thing  I  wish  you  would  explain 
once  for  all,  make  it  as  strong  as  you  please.  I 
never  employed  a  detective  to  get  information 
against  a  town  in  my  life.  I  won't  listen  or  use 
information  given  by  anyone  unless  they  are  willing 
to  make  sworn  affidavit  to  their  statements. 

"Moreover,  I  never  use  an  anonymous  letter. 
The  first  thing  I  do  when  I  open  a  letter  is  to  look 
for  the  signature.  If  it  isn't  signed  into  the  waste 
basket  it  goes.  I  don't  even  read  it.  That's  a 
rule  I  made  when  I  first  began  evangelistic  work 
and  I  have  never  broken  it.  I  never  saw  a  town 
that  had  so  many  crazy  ideas  about  me  as  South 
Bend,"  he  fumed. 

He  turned  away  brusquely. 

And  what  about  Sunday  baseball,  I  called. 

"I  never  compromise  with  the  devil." 

But  if  it  is  a  factory  town  where  men  can't 
go  on  week  days  and  if  they  didn't  have  ball  they'd 
go  to  the  beer  picnics  — 

"Why  they  go  isn't  your  business.  I'm  against 
it  !  Once  and  for  always." 

"Papa,"  she  interrupted,  "I  wish  we  could 
get  some  grass  seed  in  before  the  rain." 

"So  do  I." 

"Hadn't  you  better  put  it  in?" 

"There's  a  bucket  back  there.  Why  don't 
you  use  that?" 

"All  right." 

A  minute  later  a  pacified  Billy  Sunday  crossed 
the  lawn  lugging  a  big  tin  wash  boiler  of  grass 
seed.  Then  his  wife  pointed  out  where  he  should 
sow  it  while  she  called  to  young  Billy  to  go  take  his 
music  lesson. 

"He  won't  go  unless  he's  sent  each  time,"  she 
laughed. 

"Mr.  Sunday  always  has  strength  enough  to 
do  what  is  before  him,"  said  his  wife  later,  talk- 
ing of  his  reported  recent  nervous  collapse.  He 


182  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

speaks  so  often  of  the  way  the  Lord  gives  him  extra 
strength.  We  see  it  plainly  all  the  time.  For  in- 
stance, he  has  to  be  very  careful  not  to  take  cold 
after  a  sermon  when  he  is  perspiring  heavily  for 
it  effects  his  voice.  Now  no  matter  how  strong  a 
draft  he  may  stand  in  when  he  is  shaking  hands 
with  converts,  he  never  catches  cold. 

"Other  times  he  takes  a  closed  carriage  to  his 
room  and  rubs  down  being  careful  not  to  get  cold. 
He  never  drinks  water  when  he  is  talking  as  so 
many  speakers  do." 

Talk  drifted  to  Mrs.  Sunday's  experiences  in 
Columbus  where  the  women  entreated  her  to  ac- 
company their  car  to  Washington  for  the  suffrage 
demonstration. 

"I  couldn't  go,  I  couldn't  have  gotten  away  in 
the  first  place.  Besides  I'm  not  an  ardent  suf- 
fragette. Women  will  probably  have  the  vote  in 
time  and  that  is  all  right  if  they  want  it. 

"I  don't  believe  the  American  women  will  ever 
adopt  the  tactics  of  the  English.  They  are  too  well 
balanced  and  they  haven't  the  provocation.  But  if 
they  had  to  stand  what  the  English  women  do  and 
were  treated  as  they  are,  I  shouldn't  blame  them." 

So  much  for  life  at  Winona  Lake. 

At  Steubenville  an  ambitious  scribe  attempted  to 
chronicle  the  activities  of  Mrs.  Sunday  during  the 
routine  of  a  campaign.  The  Steubenville  Gazette 
gives  this  outline : 

Arise  at  8  a.  m. 

Breakfast,  8:30. 

Hunted  up  Treasurer  of  Steubenville  Evan- 
gelistic Association. 

Paid  bills  for  Colonel  Albert  P.  Gill. 

Dictation  one  hour  and  a  half  to  Secretary 
Robert  Matthews. 


"MA"  183 

Opening  left-over  mail. 

In  it  found  bill  for  70  cents  for  repairs  to 
furnace  at  Winona  Lake  home.  Sent  check  for 
same. 

Dispatched  payment  for  laundry  bill  to  South 
Bend,  Ind. 

Wrote  and  sent  nine  letters. 

Answered  phone  a  dozen  times. 

Helped  Billy  Sunday  get  ready  to  work. 

Brought  paper,  sharpened  pencils  and  pro- 
cured other  necessary  materials.  Sunday  works 
fast  and  likes  everything  directly  at  hand,  so  as  to 
insure  no  delay.  It  is  Ma's  duty  to  see  that  nothing 
is  overlooked. 

AFTERNOON. 

Man  came  to  talk  business.  Mrs.  Sunday 
stayed  at  home  to  attend  to  this  matter,  thus  per- 
mitting Billy  to  devote  his  entire  attention  to  his 
regular  duties. 

Wrote  and  dispatched  four  more  letters,  one 
to  an  expert  accountant  in  Pittsburg;  another  to 
a  convict  in  the  Ohio  penitentiary. 

Received  two  callers. 

Answered  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  The 
Beacon  Journal,  Akron,  O. 

Two  ladies  called,  one  of  whom  had  an  ap- 
pointment by  mail. 

Rodeheaver  introduced  a  singer  who  wished 
to  try  out  with  the  idea  of  joining  the  Sunday 
party. 

Washed. 

Supper. 

EVENING. 

Prepared  her  husband's  clothing  for  three 
changes  during  the  day,  took  out  and  put  in  buttons 
and  laid  out  clothes  ready  for  his  immediate  use. 

Attended  evening  service. 

Prepared  Bill's  lemonade. 


184  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

Yes,  Ma  Sunday  is  some  busy  lady.  Bill  took 
a  sip  of  the  temperance  thirst-quencher,  then  said, 
"And  if  Ma  hadn't  been  here  I'd  have  to  attend  to 
all  this.  Wouldn't  have  had  a  minute  for  my 
work." 

That  the  helpful  relation  existing  between  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sunday  is  apparent  to  the  casual  observer  is 
indicated  by  the  following  letter  which  appeared  in  the 
Columbus  Citizen  after  the  close  of  the  campaign  in 
that  city  in  the  usual  column  of  letters  from  our  read- 
ers. Under  a  caption  of  "The  Power  of  Nell"  the  let- 
ter goes  on  to  say : 

Whatever  Billy  Sunday  has  done  for  Co- 
lumbus, he  cannot  have  failed  to  have  left,  deeply 
imprinted  in  the  hearts  of  all  that  heard  him  preach, 
a  wonderful  example  of  the  love  of  a  strong  man 
for  his  wife.  Who  can  have  failed  to  notice  his 
loving  references  to  "Nell."  From  the  first  day 
to  the  last  of  his  seven  weeks'  campaign  he  ac- 
knowledged her  power.  Billy  Sunday  has  come 
and  gone.  That  he  had  power  and  success  is  shown 
by  18,000  human  beings  accepting  his  teachings  and 
publicly  acknowledging  their  faith.  He  has  shown 
it  by  the  subscription  of  $21,000  for  his  meritorious 
work.  But  back  of  it  all  is  "Nell." 

Sunday  evening  when  Billy  Sunday  had  closed 
an  inspiring  sermon  in  Memorial  Hall  and  the 
people  were  halting  on.  decision,  "Nell"  stepped  in 
to  the  breach,  lead  the  choir  and  all  unconscious  of 
her  power  swung  several  hundred  penitent  to  a 
public  acknowledgment  of  God.  And  the  beauty 
of  it  all  was  that  she  was  not  striving  to  establish 
something.  No,  she  was  just  trying  to  show  her- 
self a  real,  live  helpmate.  Just  trying  to  help 
Billy,  that  was  all.  No  wonder  Billy  Sunday 
speaks  reverently  when  he  says  "Nell." 


"MA"  185 

Far  more  than  the  average  outsider  is  permitted 
to  know  Mrs.  Sunday  figures  in  the  counsel  of  the 
family  and  in  the  determination  of  the  activities  of  the 
evangelist.  No  campaign  of  any  moment  is  agreed 
upon  without  her  assent.  Anything  like  an  innovation 
in  arrangements  is  referred  to  her  for  advice.  Like 
the  wives  of  many  great  men  she  looks  after  the  detail 
of  his  physical  comfort  with  great  care.  She  it  is  who 
sees  that  he  has  his  overcoat  immediately  after  a 
period  of  strenuous  exertion.  She  skillfully  extracts 
him  from  the  throng  of  curious  who  press  about  him 
at  the  conclusion  of  every  meeting,  and  on  the  other 
hand  sees  to  it  that  not  the  smallest  child  who  has  real 
cause  to  meet  the  evangelist  fails  of  doing  so. 

Wherever  possible  in  campaigns  the  Sunday  party 
secures  a  private  home  for  living  and  for  headquarters. 
Only  where  this  is  impossible  do  they  accept  hotel  ac- 
commodations. Usually  the  family  housekeeper  comes 
on  and  looks  after  the  routine  affairs  of  the  house. 
In  determining  upon  the  choice  of  a  hotel  for  the  Sun- 
day party,  the  local  committee  has  to  be  very  careful 
It  must  not  have  a  bar.  As  the  great  majority  of 
leading  hotels  have,  Sunday  is  forced  to  accept  second- 
class  accommodations.  In  Columbus,  for  instance, 
he  refused  residence  at  five  modern  hotels  and  settled 
his  party  in  a  small  family  hostelry  in  a  residence  sec- 
tion of  the  city.  Quite  frequently  the  smaller  children 
are  visitors  and  whenever  the  campaigns  are  within 
twelve  hours  by  rail  from  Winona  at  least  one  or  two 
rest  days  are  spent  there. 

In  September  1913  the  Sundays  celebrated  their 
silver  wedding  anniversary,  and  press  dispatches  thus 
describe  the  event : 


186  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

Billy  Sunday  and  wife  reached  the  twenty- 
fifth  year  of  their  married  life  on  September  5th 
and  they  celebrated  the  event  quietly  but  happily 
at  Winona  Lake.  A  number  of  their  friends  called 
at  the  Sunday  home  during  the  day  and  offered 
their  congratulations  on  their  silver  wedding  anni- 
versary. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sunday  received  congratu- 
latory messages  from  friends  and  admirers  in  all 
parts  of  the  country. 

"The  evangelist  is  just  as  devoted  to  his  wife 
today  as  he  was  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  when 
he  was  courting  "Ma,"  then  Nell,  in  Chicago,  while 
he  played  on  the  old  Chicago  White  Sox  base- 
ball team.  Billy  always  has  an  eye  for  the  com- 
fort of  Mrs.  Sunday  wherever  they  go  and  if  his 
wife  is  not  at  his  side  he  is  continually  inquiring 
of  her  whereabouts. 

Mrs.  Sunday  has  business  ability  rarely  given 
to  women  and  can  conduct  the  affairs  of  her  hus- 
band evangelist  better  than  he  himself,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  confession. 

His  little  peculiarities,  what  he  likes,  what 
he  dislikes,  how  things  should  be  conducted  are 
known  to  her  and  she  always  makes  every  possible 
effort  to  see  that  accommodations  are  suitable  to 
his  comfort. 

Mrs.  Sunday  has  that  same  tact  that  enables 
a  woman  to  accomplish  great  results  while  ap- 
parently moving  in  the  even  tenor  of  her  way. 
Their  home  life  is  an  ideal  one  of  Christian  com- 
panionship and  they  have  thus  joyously  passed  their 
silver  wedding  and  are  working  on  hand  to  hand 
and  hearts  attuned  to  the  sweet  distant  chimes  of 
golden  wedding  bells. 

Until  the  last  trumpet  has  sounded  the  world  never 
will  know  how  much  of  what  is  accredited  to  Evan- 
gelist W.  A.  Sunday,  is  in  truth,  due  to  the  one  affec- 
tionately known  as  "Ma."  She  is  a  steadying  balance 


"MA''  187 

wheel  to  an  excitable  and  nervous  temperament;  a 
sure  source  of  inspiration  when  his  patience  is  tried; 
a  buffer  between  the  many  annoyances  of  life  and  their 
intended  object;  the  sure  and  level  headed  counselor 
when  decisions  must  be  wisely  made ;  the  devoted  and 
unwearied  assistant  both  in  tedious  detail  and  in  splen- 
did generalization  Mrs  Sunday  has  come  to  be  known 
among  those  who  have  had  opportunity  of  intimate 
observation,  as  the  power  behind  the  throne. 

With  the  true  moral  instincts  which  the  Saxon 
race  everywhere  has  come  to  revere,  her  greatest  de- 
light is  in  the  success  and  achievements  of  her  hus- 
band. Without  reservation  her  life  has  been  given 
wholly  to  him  since  the  day  they  were  joined  in  wed- 
lock. From  that  day  the  star  of  W.  A.  Sunday  has 
brightened  on  the  horizon  until  it  has  stood  at  the 
zenith,  flaming  as  the  noonday  sun.  How  much  of  that 
light  is  Billy  Sunday's,  the  base  ball  evangelist,  and 
how  much  of  it  is  the  self-denying,  level-headed, 
Scotch  determination  of  Nelle  Thompson,  daughter 
of  a  Chicago  ice  cream  dealer,  no  one,  not  even  "Ma," 
herself  can  tell. 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  HUMAN  SIDE  OF  THE  EVANGELIST 

Mr.  Sunday's  love  for  home  —  The  cottage  at  Winona 
Lake  —  How  the  rest  hours  are  spent  —  Description 
of  Bungalow  —  Some  notable  presents  —  The  evan- 
gelist's three  hobbies  —  What  his  neighbors  think  — 
Personal  likes  and  dislikes  of  the  evangelist  —  About 
clothes  —  Some  favorite  books  —  His  career  as  a 
writer  —  The  abandoned  biography  —  The  Sunday 
family. 

189 


CHAPTER  XV 


XVOME — there  is  a  word  to  conjure  with.  Through 
m/  the  operation  of  a  peculiar  law  which  no  one 
7Ly  seems  to  fully  understand  those  love  it  most  who 
know  it  least.  The  Anglo-Saxon  temperament,  try  as 
it  will,  cannot  accommodate  itself  to  the  nomadic  prac- 
tices of  the  Saracen  and  the  Gypsy.  The  nature  of  a 
man's  calling  signifies  little  if  that  calling  takes  him 
far  from  home.  A  traveling  salesman,  actor,  evan- 
gelist, lecturer,  musician  or  what  not,  not  only  cherishes 
his  home  with  a  fondness  and  a  vigor  which  those  who 
are  more  settled  in  their  habits  do  not  know,  but  mani- 
fests in  their  homes  a  disposition  and  character  at 
variance  with  that  which  the  world  at  large  knows. 

A  man  is  both  at  his  best  and  at  his  worst  in  his 
home.  Therefore,  no  man  is  fully  known  until  he  is 
seen  in  his  home.  As  no  man  is  a  hero  to  his  valet  so 
do  few  men  display  in  their  homes  those  attributes 
which  the  world  at  large  admires. 

On  the  other  hand,  only  in  the  home  are  the 
gentler  aspects  of  humanity  fully  unveiled.  The  love 
of  home  is  coupled  with  love  of  children.  Simplicity 
of  tastes  and  habits  are  the  natural  co-relation  of  men- 
tal superiority  and  spiritual  stature. 

Winona  Lake,  a  summer  resort  and  Bible  student 
town  which  nestles  on  the  banks  of  a  little  lake  in 
Northern  Indiana,  is  "home"  for  Rev.  W.  A.  Sunday. 
Lionized  from  coast  to  coast  he  becomes  here  the  vil- 
lage oracle.  Matched  for  him  in  greatness  in  the  es- 

191 


192  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

timation  of  the  multitude  is  his  fellow-townsman,  Wil- 
liam Jennings  Bryan,  who  despite  his  official  residence 
in  Nebraska  is  president  of  the  Winona  Association, 
and  has  repeatedly  spoken  in  public  of  its  importance 
and  the  work  that  is  being  carried  on  there. 

Between  Mr.  Sunday  and  Mr.  Bryan,  Winona 
Lake  may  rely  safely  on  being  kept  before  the  public 
eye  as  long  as  these  gentlemen  retain  their  normal 
activity. 

But  Winona  Lake  is  the  place  to  see  Mr.  Sunday 
as  a  man.  There  the  human  side  of  his  character  un- 
folds itself  to  best  advantage.  There  he  has  an  oppor- 
tunty  of  gratifying,  in  part  at  least,  his  love  for  nature 
and  his  pleasure  in  communing  with  her  in  the  simplest 
manner.  Mr.  Sunday  has  said  that  when  old  age 
creeps  on  he  wishes  to  retire  to  a  farm.  Until  such 
time,  however,  Winona  offers  the  proper  compromise 
between  complete  rustic  existence  and  the  crowd  and 
rush  of  city  life.  Raking  the  leaves,  tending  the  lawn, 
planting  and  pruning  flowers,  walking  or  sitting  in  the 
shade  of  the  large  trees,  reading,  Mr.  Sunday  puts  in 
most  of  the  daylight  hours  of  his  vacation  days  out  of 
doors  at  Winona. 

The  Sunday  home  at  Winona  Lake  has  been  the 
subject  of  considerable  public  discussion  because  of  the 
large  sums  alleged  to  have  been  spent  on  it.  While  in 
Columbus  Mr.  Sunday  made  a  public  offer  to  sell  it  to 
anyone  who  would  give  him  $5000  for  it.  He  said : 

They  have  circulated  the  report  that  I  live  in 
a  $40,000  mansion.  The  facts  are  that  Nell  planned 
the  place  and  it  cost  us  just  $3,700  to  build  it. 
Then  we  spent  about  a  thousand  more  on  interior 


THE  SUNDAY  COTTAGE  AT  WINONA  LAKE,  IND. 


THE    HUMAN    SIDE   OF   THE   EVANGELIST  193 

decorations  and  fixtures.  If  anybody's  got  the  nerve 
to  offer  me  $5,000  for  the  place  I'll  take  is  so  quick 
it'll  make  his  head  swim. 

The  home  is  described  as  a  modest  frame  bun- 
galow with  nine  or  ten  rooms,  standing  on  a  stretch  of 
lawn  overlooking  the  lake. 

After  a  visit  of  Wilbur  R.  Armstrong  of  the 
South  Bend  Tribune  to  Winona,  he  gave  the  following 
description  of  the  place  and  his  meeting  with  the 
evangelist : 

"Come  in  and  look  through  my  $40,000  home," 
said  he  laughing,  "the  house  cost  me  exactly  $3,800 
to  build." 

Inside  he  explained  the  $40,000  connection 
with  his  residence. 

"Mrs.  Sunday  and  I  always  call  it  out  our 
$40,000  home,"  said  he,  "because  the  'booze  crowd' 
have  advertised  it  from  one  end  of  the  country 
to  the  other  that  that  is  what  I  paid  for  it.  The 
truth  of  the  matter  is  it  cost  me  exactly  $3,800,  and 
I  spent  about  $1,000  in  addition  for  interior  decora- 
tions. So  it  is  an  investment  of  just  about  $5,000, 
exactly  one-eight  of  the  amount  charged  against  me 
by  the  'booze  gang.' 

"We  think  we  have  it  right  cozy  here,  'Mam- 
ma' and  I,"  said  Sunday  as  he  dropped  into  an  easy 
chair  near  the  door. 

A  thorough  search  of  the  dictionary  would 
not  bring  forth  a  more  appropriate  word  to  de- 
scribe the  Sunday  home  interior  and  exterior,  than 
"cozy." 

It  is  ideally  planned  and  so  filled  with  pretty 
things  that  you  want  to  ask  the  evangelist  if  he 
has  ever  been  tempted  to  remain  at  home  for  the 
balance  of  his  days. 

13 


194  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

The  question  unasked,  was  answered  indi- 
rectly a  short  time  after  when  Mrs.  Sunday  volun- 
teered the  information  that  "Papa"  always  dreaded 
to  think  of  leaving  it  again  after  a  rest  there. 

The  entire  width  of  the  front  of  the  house 
is  taken  up  with  one  large  room,  which  is  a  com- 
bination of  parlor,  sitting  room,  den  and  music 
room.  It  is  finished  and  furnished  elegantly.  A 
wide  hallway  runs  from  this  room  to  the  rear  of 
the  house.  On  the  walls  are  displayed  beautiful 
enlargements  of  various  members  of  the  evangelist's 
family;  oils,  painted  by  Mrs.  Sunday  several  years 
ago,  and  other  pictures  of  interest.  The  display 
is  so  arranged  that  the  passageway  assumes  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  art  gallery  rather  than  an  unattrac- 
tive hall.  Other  rooms  throughout  the  house  are 
furnished  on  practically  the  same  scale  as  the  front 
of  the  house. 

There  is  evidence  that  expense  was  not  spared 
in  furnishing  although  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sunday  were 
both  constantly  pointing  out  things  of  value  about 
the  house  which  had  been  presented  them  by  ad- 
miring friends. 

These  gifts  ranged  in  variety  from  sets  of 
dishes  to  Panama  hats.  The  former  were  gifts 
largely  from  people  in  the  pottery  towns  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  hat  came  from  Robert  Wolfe, 
"Bob"  Wolfe,  Sunday  called  him,  the  owner  of  the 
two  newspapers  in  Columbus,  Ohio.  The  hat  lay 
on  the  bed  in  one  of  the  rooms,  a  very  ordinary 
appearing  hat  at  first  glance,  but  one  which  would 
have  cost  Mr.  Sunday  $60  or  $75  if  he  had  at- 
tempted to  buy  it  in  a  haberdashery. 

One  of  the  most  notable  gifts  to  the  Sun- 
days brought  to  light  during  the  visit,  was  an 
elaborate  clock,  six  feet  in  height,  which  occupies 
a  prominent  position  to  the  front  of  the  house. 
This  clock  was  the  gift  of  a  Masonic  lodge  in  an 
eastern  city  and  its  value  is  something  between 
$300  and  $400. 


THE    HUMAN    SIDE   OF   THE   EVANGELIST  195 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sunday  are  proud  of  their  Wi- 
nona home  and  they  make  no  effort  to  conceal  their 
pride.  The  Sundays  there  are  as  different  from 
the  Sundays  of  "the  sawdust  trail,"  as  day  and 
night. 

Sunday  in  the  pulpit  is  a  fiery  orator;  a  mag- 
netic figure  who  commands  men;  a  man  who  utters 
words  of  fire,  which  some  people  label  vulgar  and 
coarse.  In  his  home  he  is  a  quiet,  orderly  sort  of  a 
person,  who  pets  his  children  and  visits  with  his 
wife  on  topics  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Armstrong  writing  on  another  occasion  says : 

Billy  Sunday  has  three  hobbies,  religion,  home 
and  baseball.  The  evangelist  fairly  revels  in  the 
pleasure  of  his  home.  Not  infrequently  he  travels 
hundreds  of  miles  while  in  the  midst  of  one  of  his 
campaigns  to  spend  a  few  hours  at  his  beau- 
tiful cottage  at  Winona  Lake.  When  he  reaches 
Winona  Lake  he  immediately  plans  to  secure  all  the 
recreation  possible.  His  usual  natty  apparel  is 
discarded  for  something  old  and  tried  and  true.  He 
arrays  himself  in  a  loose  fitting  suit,  a  soft  hat, 
battered  with  much  usage,  and  collarless  shirt.  He 
spends  every  possible  moment  in  the  open  air.  He 
derives  keen  enjoyment  in  caring  for  plants  and 
flowers  on  the  lawn. 

Residents  of  Winona  Lake  owe  much  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sunday  for  the  beauty  of  the  park  there. 
Each  spring  and  at  intervals  during  the  summer 
months  they  hire  students  at  the  Winona  Academy 
to  clean  up  and  care  for  the  entire  park.  Often  the 
evangelist  and  his  wife  assist  in  raking  the  leaves, 
carrying  away  broken  limbs  and  otherwise  doing 
the  work  of  gardeners.  Mr.  Sunday  knows  every 
boy  at  the  school.  When  he  and  his  wife  pass 


196  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

through  the  park  they  are  the  subject  of  continued 
greetings.  To  the  students  Mrs.  Sunday  is  "Ma," 
and  Mr.  Sunday  is  known  as  the  "professor." 

The  younger  children — William  Jr.  and  Paul — 
share  with  their  father  in  the  unbounded  admiration 
for  Winona.  Although  as  much  as  possible  he  has  the 
children  with  him  on  his  trips,  proper  regard  for  their 
education  makes  this  possible  only  at  comparatively 
long  intervals,  and  there  are  few  places  out  of  the 
many  reached  in  the  travels  of  Mr.  Sunday  that  appeal 
to  the  boys  as  much  as  Winona. 

Mr.  Sunday's  neighbors  are  most  proud  of  him 
and  his  good  wife.  They  always  appear  delighted  with 
the  fact  he  selected  Winona  Lake  as  his  home,  and  they 
never  make  any  attempt  to  conceal  their  pleasure  at 
having  him  with  them.  At  the  assembly  each  year 
there  is  one  day  bigger  than  the  Fourth  of  July  and 
Christmas.  That  is  a  day  along  early  in  the  summer, 
when  Mr.  Sunday  delivers  his  annual  address  to  his 
neighbors  and  the  patrons  of  Winona.  Thousands  of 
farmers  for  miles  around  drive  to  Winona  each  year 
to  hear  Mr.  Sunday  make  his  annual  address.  Usually 
he  delivers  a  new  sermon  at  the  opening  of  the  assem- 
bly, a  fact  which  is  always  known  to  his  neighbors 
and  a  source  of  no  little  pride  on  their  part. 

Mr.  Sunday's  neighbors  almost  with  one  accord 
agree  that  he  is  the  greatest  agency  in  the  world  today 
for  the  cause  of  righteousness.  The  majority  of  them 
there  were  converted  through  their  association  with 
him,  and  they  are  probably  as  devout  and  God-fearing 
group  of  Billy  Sunday  penitents  as  he  can  boast. 

Dozens  of  people  down  at  Winona  Lake  and  at 
Warsaw,  Indiana,  a  little  town  a  couple  of  miles  from 


THE    HUMAN    SIDE   OF   THE   EVANGELIST  197 

the  resort  swell  with  pride  at  their  acquaintanceship 
with  Mr.  Sunday  whenever  his  name  is  mentioned. 
They  swear  by  his  sincerity,  challenge  his  enemies  to 
prove  their  charges,  and  declare  he  is  doing  more 
good  in  the  world  "than  any  other  dozen  ministers 
alive."  No  matter  where  he  is  conducting  a  campaign 
they  watch  the  revival  from  day  to  day  and  their  heads 
are  fairly  filled  with  figures  and  statistics  by  which 
they  know  whether  "Billy"  is  proving  more  of  a  suc- 
cess in  one  town  than  he  did  in  another;  just  how  cer- 
tain of  his  more  famous  sermons  succeeded  in  winning 
souls,  and  the  precise  condition  of  health  of  himself 
and  wife. 

In  his  personal  life  Mr.  Sunday  is  simple.  He 
has  his  tastes,  his  likes  and  dislikes,  but  these  sel- 
dom express  themselves  in  an  exaggerated  form.  He 
is  a  good  dresser,  a  moderate  eater,  an  omnivorous 
reader,  and  a  consistent  devotee  to  outdoor  life.  De- 
spite the  extraordinary  exertions  he  makes  habitually 
during  his  campaign,  he  enjoys  exceptional  health.  At 
50  he  could  readily  pass  for  40.  With  the  exception 
of  an  occasional  attack  of  hay  fever  he  is  seldom  ill. 
To  combat  this  insidious  malady  he  frequently  spends 
the  summer  in  the  Hood  River  district  of  Oregon 
where  he  owns  a  considerable  fruit  farm.  It  is  one  of 
the  Sunday  traits  of  good  will  that  he  frequently  sends 
those  whom  he  wishes  to  compliment  in  a  peculiarly 
personal  manner,  a  barrel  of  apples  raised  on  his  west- 
ern ranch. 

Despite  his  continued  outdoor  exercises  and  his 
extraordinary  physical  exertion  incident  to  his  preach- 
ing Mr.  Sunday  is  a  light  sleeper.  Often  he  spends 
but  four  or  five  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  in  sleep. 


REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

Among  any  gathering  of  clergymen  he  stands  out 
conspicuously  as  a  well-dressed  man.  It  is  seldom  in- 
deed that  he  effects  the  conventional  garb  of  the  pulpit 
and  appears  rather  as  a  dapper  man  of  business.  A 
careful  tailor  has  contrived  to  give  him  the  advantage 
of  every  inch  of  his  height  so  that  he  appears  some- 
what taller  than  he  is  in  reality.  The  physical  exer- 
cise which  is  a  part  of  so  many  of  his  sermons  is  neces- 
sarily severe  on  his  raiment  and  this  compels  him  to 
carry  what  amounts  to  a  cleaning  establishment  with 
him  wherever  he  goes.  When  occasion  demands  Mr. 
Sunday  can  press  a  suit  of  clothes  quite  as  well  as  he 
can  deliver  a  sermon.  During  a  campaign  he  is  fre- 
quently obliged  to  change  from  head  to  foot  as  many 
as  four  times  a  day,  and  this  involves  a  wardrobe  that 
is  quite  large.  The  peculiar  loyalty  of  the  man  prompts 
him  to  have  his  laundry  done  at  an  establishment  near 
his  home,  so  that  no  matter  where  he  may  be  preach- 
ing, huge  bundles  of  linen  go  and  come  from  Indiana. 

Mr.  Sunday's  literary  activities  are  carried  on  for 
the  most  part  at  Winona  and  sometimes  at  his  fruit 
ranch  in  Oregon.  The  exacting  demands  on  his  time 
during  a  campaign  admit  of  very  little  new  work.  At 
Winona  it  is  his  favorite  method  to  take  his  Bible  and 
spend  the  long  days  beneath  the  trees  reading.  This 
he  calls  resting  and  with  the  single  exception  of  preach- 
ing to  a  responsive  audience,  is  his  favorite  occupation. 
He  is  also  fond  of  books  relating  to  evangelistic  and 
kindred  work. 

"There  are  some  books  I  like  to  read"  he  says, 
"I  consider  the  Bible  the  best  of  them  all.  I  also 
think  the  lives  of  Peter  Cartwright,  Charles  G. 
Phinney  and  John  G.  Patten  are  among  the  greatest 


THE   HUMAN   SIDE  OF  THE  EVANGELIST          199 

!- 

of  all  books.  Phinney  converted  the  owner  of  the 
New  York  mills  at  Utica,  New  York,  and  since  he 
campaigned  there,  the  mills  have  not  been  in  the 
hands  of  non-Christian  men." 

In  comparing  his  sermons  for  use  Mr.  Sunday  be- 
gins by  noting  various  quotations  and  anecdotes  which 
will  illustrate  the  theme  he  wishes  to  handle.  Nota- 
tions of  these  are  made  on  all  sorts  of  scraps  of  paper 
and  are  then  turned  over  to  his  secretary  who  shapes 
them  into  memoranda.  Gradually  the  sermon  takes 
form  in  the  preacher's  mind  and  then  with  a  great 
sheaf  of  notes  in  his  hand  he  whips  the  whole  into 
something  like  the  form  in  which  it  will  be  used.  Sel- 
dom if  ever,  however,  are  even  his  famous  sermons 
preached  twice  exactly  alike.  He  never  goes  into  the 
pulpit  with  more  than  an  outline  before  him.  His  ex- 
traordinary memory  permits  him  to  quote  lengthy 
passages  verbatim,  but  on  this  he  does  not  rely  for 
effect.  It  is  in  the  infusion  of  intense  personal  enthu- 
siasm that  the  most  remarkable  results  from  his  dis- 
courses come. 

In  his  earlier  days  Mr.  Sunday  made  no  effort  to 
copyright  any  of  his  writings.  What  he  considered 
unwarranted  liberties  with  the  text,  however,  later 
prompted  him  to  do  so,  and  in  a  little  more  than  three 
years  he  copyrighted  no  less  than  31  of  his  discourses. 

The  records  of  the  Library  of  Congress  show  the 
following  titles,  copyrights  of  which  are  in  his  name: 

Amusements. 

And  he   said  tomorrow. 

Atonement. 

Backsliders. 

Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock. 


200  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

Get  on  the  water  wagon. 

Great  reward. 

Home. 

Hope. 

How  shall  we  escape? 

How  to  succeed. 

If  any  man  will. 

If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments. 

Incarnation. 

Is  it  well  with  thee? 

Judgment. 

Little  plain  talks — Character. 

Moral  leper. 

Nathan  and  David. 

No  man  cared  for  my  soul. 

Not  far  from  the  Kingdom. 

Nuts  for  skeptics  to  crack. 

Power  of  motherhood. 

Question  of  the  ages. 

Samson. 

Three  great  questions. 

Three  groups. 

Twenty-third  Psalm. 

Unpardonable  sin. 

What  must  I  do  to  be  saved? 

What  shall  the  end  be? 

Title  to  one  other  copyright  stands  in  the  name 
of  Mr.  Sunday,  this  is  for  a  book  entitled  "Life  and 
Labors  of  Rev.  Wm.  A.  (Billy)  Sunday,  the  Great 
Modern  Evangelist;  With  Selected  Sermons."  It  was 
copyrighted  in  the  year  1908  by  S.  T.  Herman  and  E. 
E.  Poole,  of  Decatur,  Illinois,  and  published  by  a 
printing  establishment  in  Chicago. 

The  only  feature  of  the  book,  which  properly  can 
be  considered  a  life,  are  four  pages  of  introduction. 
In  the  first  paragraph  of  this  introduction  there  are 


THE   HUMAN   SIDE  OF   THE  EVANGELIST          201 

no  less  than  five  errors  in  fact,  other  portions  of  the 
meager  outline  are  more  or  less  at  variance  with  ac- 
tual conditions,  although  there  is  nothing  to  indicate 
any  greater  offense  than  carelessness. 

The  bulk  of  the  360  pages  is  taken  up  with  re- 
productions of  sermons.  The  readers  of  the  book,  if 
there  be  any,  would  have  recognized  whole  pages  of 
familiar  expressions  which  he  had  heard  in  the  taber- 
nacle. The  evangelist,  however,  more  intimately  fa- 
miliar with  the  construction  of  all  his  works,  finds  that 
a  number  of  his  sermons  were  ruthlessly  joined  to- 
gether and  the  entire  continuity  of  thought  disturbed. 

Mr.  Sunday,  therefore,  made  it  his  business,  at  a 
considerable  outlay  in  cash,  to  secure  both  the  copy- 
right and  the  plates  of  the  book,  which  he  destroyed 
and  effectively  prevented  any  further  issue.  Copies 
are  extremely  rare  and  indeed  none  are  known  to  ex- 
ist outside  of  the  Library  of  Congress.  Thus  ended 
the  only  previous  attempt  to  put  in  book  form  the  do- 
ings of  the  evangelist. 

His  public  career  has  brought  to  Mr.  Sunday  a 
number  of  offers  to  embark  in  educational  work  of  one 
sort  and  another.  These  he  has  steadily  refused  even 
when  they  came  in  the  attractive  form  of  the  head 
of  a  department  of  an  institution  like  the  University 
of  the  Southwest  at  Dallas,  Texas,  an  institution  with 
millions  behind  it  and  backed  by  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church.  Chautauquas  and  lecture  bureaus  have 
offered  him  almost  unbelievable  sums,  but  they  have 
been  regularly  refused.  When  Mr.  Sunday  does  de- 
liver an  address  or  a  series  of  addresses  outside  of  his 
regular  campaign  his  practice  is  to  donate  his  services 


202  REV.   BILLY   SUNDAY 

and  to  accept  no  other  fee  than  his  traveling  expenses 
to  and  from  the  place  where  he  may  be  heard. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sunday  have  been  blessed  with  four 
children,  one  girl  and  three  boys.  Helen  the  oldest 
born  in  1891,  is  now  Mrs.  Mark  P.  Haines;  George, 
born  in  1894  is  also  married,  his  wife  was  Miss  Har- 
riet Mason ;  William  Jr.  who  perpetuates  the  name  of 
his  father,  was  born  in  1902,  and  Paul,  the  only  one 
to  receive  a  Bible  designation,  was  born  in  1908.  Paul 
was  named  after  the  evangelist's  favorite  apostle. 


CHAPTER   XVI 


EPISODES,  INCIDENTS,  COMMENTS  AND 
QUOTATIONS 

Gov.  Harmon  and  Mr.  Sunday  —  Gov.  Tenet's  opinion  — 
Gov.  Cox  talks  —  Famous  wagon  maker  a  friend  — 
Preacher  and  prize  fighter  meet  —  Told  to  Ohio 
convicts  —  At  governor's  inaugural  reception  —  More 
Billy  Sundays  needed  —  Mr.  Sunday  and  his  critics  — 
Why  Sunday  uses  slang  —  Sunday  newspapers  barred 
—  Advice  to  high  school  students  —  What  converts 
cost  —  Sunday  on  troubles  —  Sunday's  view  on  di- 
vorce —  Prayer  to  the  passing  year  —  Sunday's  poem 
of  farewell  —  Sunday  favors  woman's  suffrage  —  Ser- 
mon to  women  only  —  Sunday's  journey  through  the 
Bible  —  Sunday  on  amusements  —  Sunday's  dream  of 
heaven  —  Sunday's  estimate  of  Solomon  —  Sunday's 
version  versus  Bible  —  Paraphrase  of  feeding  the  mul- 
titude, Sunday's  version,  Matthew's  version  —  Sun- 
day's tribute  to  Gen.  Lee  —  Sunday's  tribute  to  Lin- 
coln. 

203 


CHAPTER  XVI 


mANY  incidents  of  the  life  and  work  of  Rev. 
W.  A.  Sunday  are  of  interest  and  worthy 
of  preservation,  without  having  any  essential 
connection  with  his  life's  history.     These  have  been 
culled  and  set  down,  for  the  pleasure  of  the  admirers 
of  the  evangelist.     Whenever  possible  the  authority 
has  been  cited. 

There  are  also  appended  a  number  of  quotations 
and  excerpts  from  his  sermons,  which  have  had  an 
unusual  vogue  in  the  newspapers.  No  attempt  has 
been  made  to  give  these  their  original  setting.  They 
are  given  here  for  convenient  reference  in  a  perma- 
nent form. 

GOVERNOR  JUDSON  HARMON  AND  MR.  SUNDAY 

When  Evangelist  Billy  Sunday  and  Governor 
Harmon  exchanged  greetings  in  the  latter's  office  Sat- 
urday two  things  of  similarity  in  their  lives  developed 
about  which  they  could  swap  pleasantries. 

"Your  father  was  a  preacher  and  so  was  mine," 
said  Uncle  Jud.  Whereupon  they  shook  on  the  fact. 

Then  Governor  Harmon  held  up  his  right  hand, 
exhibited  a  gnarled  and  bent  digit  and  smilingly  said, 
"and  we're  pals  when  it  comes  to  the  diamond,  too. 
You  know  I  used  to  play  baseball  and  there's  a  finger 
I  had  broken  in  a  game." 

Billy  then  displayed  both  hands,  neither  one  evi- 
dencing any  scars  of  the  diamond.  "Nope,  I  haven't 

205 


206  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

any,"  he  said.  "I  used  to  be  pretty  lucky  on  the  dia- 
mond and  never  managed  to  get  my  fingers  in  the  way 
of  the  ball." — Columbus  Citizen. 

GOVERNOR  TENER'S  OPINION 

Asked  what  he  thought  of  Billy  Sunday,  Gov. 
Tener,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  played  ball  against  him 
back  in  the  nineties,  made  answer  in  this  semi-solil- 
oquy and  semi-quiz  fashion:  "Wouldn't  he  make  a 
dandy  in  politics?" 

Those  who  know  something  of  politics  and  who 
have  heard  Sunday  quite  agree  with  Pennsylvania's 
chief  executive. — Steubenville  Gazette. 

GOVERNOR  JAMES  M.  COX  TALKS 

"Billy  Sunday's  success  in  this  city  ought  not  to 
be  surprising.  The  man  has  a  wonderful  personality. 
He  has  a  splendid  organization.  He  has  the  right  side 
of  the  argument.  He  is  simply  bound  to  succeed  at 
anything  he  undertakes  and  we  are  all  fortunate  that 
he  has  undertaken  to  help  men  to  lead  better  lives  by 
inducing  them  to  embrace  religion." 

— Columbus  Dispatch. 

FAMOUS   WAGON    MAKER  A   FRIEND 

"Hello,  Clem/' 

"Howdy,  Bill!" 

That's  all  that  could  be  heard  of  a  conversation 
between  Clement  Studebaker,  jr.,  of  Sounth  Bend,  and 
Billy  Sunday  just  before  he  began  his  evening  sermon 
in  the  tabernacle  last  night. 


EPISODES,    INCIDENTS,    COMMENT,  ETC.  207 

It  was  a  reunion  of  old  college  chums  for  the  two 
men  were  classmates  at  Northwestern  University, 
Chicago,  in  1888  and  1889  and  have  had  no  opportunity 
to  get  together  in  years. 

Meeting  Mr.  Studebaker  again,  and  talking  of  old 
times  together,  was  one  of  Mr.  Sunday's  desires  as 
soon  as  he  decided  he  would  come  to  South  Bend. 

While  his  old  classmate  pleaded  for  the  cause  of 
revivals  in  probably  the  most  eloquent  sermon  he  has 
delivered  thus  far,  Mr.  Studebaker  sat  with  members 
of  the  Sunday  party  just  behind  the  evangelist.  J. 
M.  Studebaker,  sr.,  who  has  known  Sunday  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  sat  with  the  other  Mr.  Studebaker,  also 
as  a  guest  of  the  Sunday  party. — South  Bend  Tribune. 

PREACHER  AND  PRIZE   FIGHTER   MEET 

"Battling  Nelson  is  the  whitest  pug  in  the  busi- 
ness," said  Evangelist  Billy  Sunday  Monday. 

"I  never  met  Bat  until  yesterday.  He  strikes  me 
as  a  mighty  fine  fellow  and  I  was  awfully  glad  to  see 
him  at  the  meeting  Sunday  night.  He  tells  me  he 
does  not  drink,  smoke  or  chew,  and  I  consider  him 
one  of  the  straightest  men  in  the  fighting  line." 

"Billy's  great,"  exclaimed  Battling  Nelson  Sun- 
day night  during  the  evangelist's  sermon.  "He  ain't 
afraid  to  say  what  he  thinks  and  I  like  him  for  it.  I 
really  have  no  religion  myself  except  that  of  doing 
what  I  think  is  right,  and  I  sometimes  believe  that  is 
the  best  kind  of  religion ;  better  anyway  than  that  of 
some  of  these  religious  fanatics." 

— Columbus  Citizen, 


208  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

TOLD    TO    OHIO    CONVICTS 

Alexander  Motherwell,  superintendent  of  the 
Buick  Motor  Co.  of  Flint,  Mich.,  gave  an  interesting 
testimonial.  "Thirty  years  ago  I  helped  build  these 
walls  about  you  and  also  the  water  tower  which  pro- 
tects these  buildings  from  fire,"  he  said.  "Twenty 
years  ago  I  was  chasing  through  the  country  to  keep 
out  of  this  prison.  I  was  converted  by  Rev.  Mr.  Sun- 
day ten  years  ago  in  Chicago,  and  started  working 
regularly.  I  kept  climbing  from  humble  positions  to 
foreman,  superintendent,  until  now  I  am  out  of  debt, 
own  my  home  and  drive  my  own  automobile.  Thirty 
years  ago  there  wasn't  a  man  in  Lancaster  who  would 
lend  me  fifty  cents.  Last  summer  I  went  down  there, 
took  the  leading  banker  out  in  my  machine,  and  fin- 
ally sold  him  one.  There  was  a  time  down  there  when 
they  said  I  wouldn't  amount  to  a  'whip  scratch,'  and 
I  didn't  until  I  took  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ." 

— Columbus  Dispatch. 

AT  GOVERNOR'S  INAUGURAL  RECEPTION 

Billy  Sunday  attended  the  governor's  reception  at 
the  State  House  Monday  evening.  It  was  at  first  ru- 
mored that  the  evangelist,  who  had  frowned  on  the 
inaugural  ball,  would  not  attend  the  reception,  but  at 
about  8 130  he  appeared,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Sunday 
and  B.  D.  Ackley  and  went  down  the  receiving  line. 

Before  they  reached  the  senate  chamber,  however, 
Billy  became  lost  in  the  "wilds"  of  the  State  House 
and  had  to  be  accompanied  by  an  usher.  He  and  Mrs. 
Sunday  awaited  their  turn  in  the  great  crowd  that  was 
waiting  to  go  "down  the  line."  The  man  next  to  the 


EPISODES,    INCIDENTS,    COMMENT,  ETC.  209 

governor  did  not  recognize  Billy  when  he  came  along, 
asked  him  his  name  and  then  presented  him  to  the 
governor,  as  "Mr.  Saunders."  But  the  governor  recog- 
nized him.  'Well,  well"  he  said  putting  out  his  hand, 
"I'm  glad  to  see  you.  You're  coming  down  to  see  me 
before  you  leave,  aren't  you?" 

"You  bet,"  said  Billy. 

Before  the  reception  Sunday  had  ridden  in  the 
inaugural  parade  and  attended  the  formal  6  o'clock 
dinner  at  the  Ohio  club. 

This  dinner,  although  brief,  was  one  of  the  hap- 
piest events  of  the  day.  "Billy"  Sunday  turned  his 
wine  glass  upside  down  and  asked  the  blessing  before 
the  "eats." 

"We  beseech  Thee  to  bless  Governor  Cox  and  the 
state  officials  who  today  took  hold  of  the  guiding  reins 
of  the  state  government,"  Sunday  prayed,  "and  we 
thank  Thee  that  today  when  Governor  Cox  took  the 
oath  of  office  his  hand  rested  on  the  old  family  Bible, 
in  which  is  recorded  the  names  of  children  and  which 
is  probably  stained  with  the  tears  of  his  old  mother, 
who  has  read  and  pondered  over  its  pages  and  who 
taught  the  family  to  love  and  revere  the  Christ  which 
it  reveals." — Columbus  Citizen. 

i 

MORE  BILLY   SUNDAYS    NEEDED 

This  country,  and  the  world,  should  have  more 
Billy  Sundays  in  the  evangelistic  field.  Humanity  to- 
day is  in  more  of  a  receptive  mood,  so  far  as  religion 
is  concerned,  than  ever  before  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind. What  is  known  as  the  "Men  and  Religion  Move- 
ment" is  gaining  more  and  more  force  and  momentum 

14 


210  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

every  year.  This  sort  of  a  movement  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago  would  have  proven  a  flat  failure  because 
of  lack  of  interest  or  sympathy,  while  at  the  present 
time  some  of  the  strongest  men  in  the  country  are 
giving  it  their  most  hearty  support. 

We  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  Billy  Sunday 
has  made  a  great  success  of  the  Columbus  campaign. 
He  will  make  a  success  wherever  he  goes,  because  the 
people  of  no  city  are  quite  so  dense  as  not  to  be  able 
to  see  the  good  which  he  accomplishes  in  their  midst. 
— East  Liverpool  Review. 

MR.  SUNDAY  AND  HIS  CRITICS 

In  one  hundred  years  of  Columbus  history,  there 
is  no  record  of  anybody  who  preached  here  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  as  Billy  Sunday  is  now  preaching  it. 
There  are  many  who  do  not  like  it  and  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  say  so.  They  object  to  this,  that  and  the  other 
feature  of  the  evangelistic  campaign,  and  perhaps  they 
are  right. 

The  fact  remains,  however,  that  there  are  many, 
perhaps  more,  who  do  like  this  unconventional,  rough- 
and-tumble  preaching  and  seem  likely  to  be  benefited 
by  it.  There  is  the  testimony  of  one  of  his  critics  that 
Mr.  Sunday  is  preaching  the  greatest  fundamental 
truths  of  right  living.  The  accessories  only  are  ob- 
jected to.  But  these  are  for  him  what  the  circulation 
department  is  to  a  newspaper.  They  make  it  possible 
for  him  to  tell  the  truth  to  tens  of  thousands  where 
he  might  otherwise  proclaim  it  only  to  empty  benches. 

— Columbus  Dispatch, 


EPISODES,    INCIDENTS,    COMMENT,  ETC.  211 

WHY  SUNDAY  USES  SLANG 

During  one  of  his  sermons  yesterday  Sunday 
halted  long  enough  to  tell  the  people  why  he  likes  to 
use  slang  expressions. 

"I  like  good  old  Anglo-Saxon  words,"  said  the 
evangelist.  "They  mean  more  and  have  more  power 
behind  them.  If  I  should  come  here  and  say  you  were 
prevaricators  and  evaders  of  the  truth  instead  of  call- 
ing you  the  liars  that  some  of  you  are,  it  would  make 
no  more  impression  than  water  on  a  duck's  back. 
Slang  gets  the  thing  in  a  nut-shell  and  makes  it  easy 
for  the  people  to  understand.  Preachers  would  get 
along  much  better  if  they  used  words  of  a  plainer 
type  so  that  the  ordinary  class  would  know  what  they 
are  talking  about. — Columbus  Dispatch. 

SUNDAY    NEWSPAPERS   BARRED. 

Reading  Sunday  newspapers  in  Billy  Sunday's 
tabernacles  is  tabooed.  Fred  Seibert,  tabernacle  boss, 
forcibly  impressed  this  fact  upon  a  number  of  persons 
who  went  early  to  secure  seats  after  buying  a  paper 
on  the  way,  Sunday  morning.  Scarcely  had  they  un- 
folded the  "sheets"  and  glanced  at  "Snookums"  and 
the  other  funny  pages  than  Fred  tapped  them  on  the 
shoulder. 

"No  reading  of  Sunday  papers  allowed  here,  sirs," 
he  said.  "If  you  want  to  read,  get  your  Bibles  and 
read  the  first  and  second  chapters  of  Paul's  epistle  to 
Titus." 

ADVICE  TO  HIGH  SCHOOL  STUDENTS 

"Be  careful  where  you  let  your  mind  go.  Don't 
read  bad  books.  Don't  go  round  wearing  your  hat 


212  }  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

cocked  over  one  ear.  Don't  talk  too  much.  Some 
people  would  make  more  friends  and  keep  them  if 
they  were  dumb.  David  didn't  make  himself  the  hero 
of  every  story  he  told.  The  Bible  makes  it  plain  that 
the  bulldog  always  gets  it  in  the  neck." 

"Idleness  is  the  foe  of  your  youth,"  he  said,  talk- 
ing of  the  habits  which  grow  to  mammoth  proportions. 

"We  want  you  to  win,"  he  continued.  "You'll  find 
people  wherever  you  go  who  are  willing  to  give  you  a 
glad  hand  if  you  do  right.  Be  governed  by  kindness 
and  not  by  disgust." 

"Learn  to  do  common  things.  Be  a  Christian  so 
that  everyone  will  know  it.  Don't  be  afraid  they  will 
scoff  at  you.  When  they  find  you  are  in  earnest,  they'll 
like  you  so  much  the  better." 

WHAT    CONVERTS    COST 

That  he  is  paid  less  proportionately  than  any  other 
evangelist  was  the  statement  of  Billy  Sunday,  Friday 
evening. 

"Considering  the  number  of  converts  and  the  ag- 
gregate amount  of  current  expenses  of  the  churches 
for  the  year,"  said  he,  "it  costs  $2,000  to  convert  one 
soul  in  New  York,  $465  in  Boston,  $445  in  Denver, 
$425  in  Chicago,  $78  in  New  Orleans  and  $75  in  At- 
lanta. 

"Why  less  in  the  South  ?  Listen,  and  I'll  tell  you, 
Why  did  it  take  60,000,000  people  in  the  North  four 
years  to  whip  8,000,000  in  the  South?  Because  the 
North  was  fighting  true  American  blood.  That's  why 
it  is  less  in  the  South.  The  truest  blood  is  south  of 
the  Mason-Dixon  line. 


EPISODES,   INCIDENTS,   COMMENT,  ETC.  213 

"In  spite  of  all  these  high  figures,  you  kick  about 
what  I  get.  What  I'm  paid  for  my  work  makes  it 
only  about  $2  a  soul,  and  I  get  less  proportionately  for 
the  number  I  convert,  than  any  other  living  evange- 
list." — Columbus  Dispatch. 

SUNDAY  ON  TROUBLES 

There  is  no  back  but  what  has  its  burden,  there's 
no  heart  but  what  has  its  sorrow. 

Trouble  is  the  common  lot  of  all. 

There  is  no  one  on  God's  earth  that  I  pity  more 
than  the  parents  of  a  willful  son  or  daughter. 

The  greatest  trouble  results  from  sin. 

Trouble  makes  all  poor.  All  are  helpless  before 
trouble. 

Standing  still  in  sin  is  as  impossible  as  standing 
still  in  fire. 

If  you  want  to  read  true  religious  experience 
read  the  Psalms. 

When  a  man  cries  you  know  he  is  in  great  trou- 
ble. 

There  is  no  impossibility  with  God. 

There  are  not  enough  devils  in  hell  or  on  earth  in 
or  out  of  church  to  stop  God's  work. 

Religious  conditions  are  in  a  deplorable  condition 
and  don't  you  forget  it. 

A  man  in  sin  is  always  in  the  mire  and  sinking 
deeper. 

It  is  a  thousand  times  easier  to  lead  a  Christian 
life  than  to  live  in  sin. 

God's  way  is  made  for  man  and  man  is  made  for 
God.  The  devil's  road  is  mire. 


214  REV.  BILLY  SUNDAY 

SUNDAY'S  VIEWS  ON  DIVORCE 

Billy  Sunday  is  an  arch  enemy  of  divorce  and 
incidentally  he  pays  a  high  compliment  to  the  Catholic 
church.  In  his  Sunday  night  sermon  he  said :  "Christ 
says,  'What  God  hath  joined  together  let  no  man  put 
asunder.'  The  world  says :  'we'll  divorce  you  and 
then  we'll  marry  some  other  woman  and  we  won't 
sin.'  (The  evangelist  clenched  his  fist),  You  lie! 

The  only  scriptural  excuse  for  divorce  is  adultery. 
When  it  comes  to  the  divorce  question.  I'm  a  Roman 
Catholic  from  the  top  of  my  head  to  the  sole  of  my 
feet." 

To  Sunday's  former  home  in  Chicago  a  dapper 
young  man  once  came,  "dressed  fit  to  kill,"  and  pre- 
sented a  bride  and  a  marriage  license. 

"Have  either  of  you  been  married?"  Sunday 
asked.  "I  have,"  said  the  man  caressing  his  silk  hat 
and  adjusting  a  diamond  shirt  stud  as  big  as  a  hickory 
nut. 

"Is  your  wife  alive?"  the  evangelist  then  inquired, 
and  the  man  returned  "Yes." 

"Beat  it  you  lobster,"  was  the  Sunday  ultimatum. 

"What's  that?"  returned  the  other,  much  sur- 
prised. 

"Good  night,"  said  the  preacher. 

"But  I  have  a  license,"  argued  the  would-be  bride- 
groom. 

"Yes,"  said  Billy,  'there  are  some  things  legally 
right  that  are  morally  wrong." 


EPISODES,   INCIDENTS,   COMMENT,  ETC.  215 

PRAYER  TO  THE  PASSING  YEAR. 

"Well,  Old  Year,  good-bye,"  began  Billy  Sun- 
day's prayer  New  year's  eve  at  the  tabernacle.  "We 
hate  to  say  the  words,  because  it  is  like  saying  fare- 
well to  an  old  friend.  But  we  bid  you  good-bye.  You 
have  been  good  to  us,  Old  Year.  You  have  given  us 
days  of  sunshine ;  some  were  splashed  with  rain.  Some 
were  light  with  laughter;  others  heavy  with  grief. 
Sometimes  our  faces  were  wreathed  with  smiles ;  some- 
times they  were  bathed  with  tears.  You've  left  some 
empty  chairs  by  the  fireside,  Old  Year.  You've  been 
unkind  to  some  of  us.  There  are  clothes  in  some  of 
our  closets  that  some  little  form  will  never  wear 
again.  There  are  some  people  who  would  give  all  they 
have  in  the  world  if  a  little  form  could  toddle  through 
the  door  again  and  cuddle-doo.  Oh,  Lord,  if  you 
have  any  sorrow  in  store  for  my  family,  defer  it  as 
long  as  you  can. 

"But  good-bye,  Old  Year.  Wait  there,  little  fel- 
low around  the  corner  because  the  old  fellow  with  the 
beard  cannot  be  with  us  long.  There  are  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  people  all  over  this  land  who 
will  wake  up  with  clean  hearts  and  new  resolutions 
in  1913  that  when  1912  came  in  hated  God  and  all  thaf 
is  good. 

"God,  if  you'll  let  me  live  until  tomorrow  I'll  try 
to  be  a  better  preacher.  I'll  try  to  hate  you  more, 
devil,  and  you  know  it.  Devil,  I'll  fight  you  more  than 
ever  before.  You  saved  my  poor  miserable  soul  26 
years  ago  and  you  put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth.  For 
26  years  I  haven't  hit  the  booze ;  for  26  years  I  haven't 
cursed;  for  26  years  I've  been  true;  for  26  years  I 


216  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

haven't  darkened  the  door  of  a  theatre  except  to  preach 
the  Gospel;  for  26  years  I  haven't  gone  to  a  cheap- 
skate leg  show  to  look  through  a  pair  of  glasses  at 
women  who  don't  have  enough  clothes  on  to  flag  a 
hand  car. 

"Here's  a  great  bunch  of  preachers  over  here," 
he  said,  turning  over  to  the  corner  where  the  pastors 
and  their  families  sat,  "Lord,  bless  them.  And  back 
here  is  a  choir.  Oh,  Lord  if  you  have  one  up  in  glory 
that  will  beat  that,  you'll  have  to  go  some.  Bless  all 
of  them.  And  Lord,  bless  the  newspapers  and  tfie 
boys  some  of  whom  I've  known  in  other  towns.  Bless 
the  State  Journal  and  that  man  who  has  written  those 
magnificent  accounts  and  the  man  who  draws  those 
cartoons  on  the  front  page.  And  bless  the  Citizen  and 
Mr.  Busby  whom  I  have  known  in  other  meetings. 
And  bless  The  Dispatch — who's  that  fellow  who's  bee;i 
writing  for  them? — bless  Mr.  Sheridan. 

"Hear  us  and  help  us.  Good-bye,  Old  Year. 
Lead  us  and  guide  us,  for  Jesus'  sake." 

— Columbus  Dispatch. 

SUNDAY'S  POEM  OF  FAREWELL 

"How  swiftly  the  years  of  our  pilgrimage  fly, 
As  the  days,  weeks  and  months  move  silently  by; 
"Our  days  are  soon  numbered,  death  sounds  our 

knell, 

We  scarcely  know  our  friends  'till  we  bid  them 
farewell. 

To  you  fellow-Christians,  I  turn  with  delight, 
The  grave  cannot  harm  you,  your  future  is  bright; 
Be  fairthful,  be  earnest,  temptations  repel, 
And  you'll  soon  bid  this  world  a  smiling  farewell. 


EPISODES,   INCIDENTS,   COMMENT,  ETC.  217 

Farewell,  fellow-sinners,  I'm  free  from  your  blood, 
My  message  delivered,  I  leave  you  with  God. 
I've  pleaded,  I've  entreated,  but  I  could  not  com- 
pel, 

And  'till  the  Judgment  day  breaketh,  I  bid  you 
farewell." 

SUNDAY  FAVORS  WOMAN'S  SUFFRAGE 

Woman  suffragists  ought  to  like  Billy  Sunday. 

"Do  you  favor  woman  suffrage?"  he  was  asked 
the  other .day. 

"Why  not?"  he  hurled  at  the  reporter  just  as 
though  the  latter  were  an  "and." 

"I  don't  know,"  murmured  the  representative  of 
the  press  in  a  tone  measured  to  encourage  Mr.  Sunday 
to  a  further  discussion  of  the  subject.  And  Mr.  Sun- 
day was  quite  willing  to  talk  about  it. 

There  are  6,000,000  women  and  girls  working  for 
a  livelihood  in  this  country,  he  statistically  declared 
to  the  reporter. 

He  urged  that  the  working  woman  fills  an  im- 
portant place  in  the  industrial  and  business  life  of  tlu 
country.  "Take  them  out  of  the  offices,  mills,  factor- 
ies and  stores,  and  you'll  miss  them  quickly  enough. 
These  6,000,000  women  so  engaged  were  advanced  as 
one  of  Mr.  Sunday's  reasons  for  granting  the  franchise 
to  women. — South  Bend  Tribune. 

SUNDAY'S  SERMON  TO  WOMEN  ONLY 

There  are  married  women  who  shrink  from  ma- 
ternity, not  because  of  ill  health,  but  simply  because 
they  love  ease  and  fine  garments,  and  hanker  to  flit  like 
butter-flies  at  some  fool  social  function. 


218  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

Malpractice  should  be  treated  the  same  as  any 
other  class  of  murderers. 

There  isn't  an  angel  in  heaven  who  wouldn't  be 
tickled  to  death  to  come  down  to  earth  and  be  hon- 
ored with  motherhood. 

No  wonder  the  men  go  to  their  clubs,  with  these 
women  bumming  around  bridge  parties,  gadding  and 
fondling  pet  dogs.  No  man  wants  to  play  second  fid- 
dle to  a  bow-legged  bull  pup.  You  may  bet  your  sweet 
life  I  wouldn't. 

Many  girls  who  marry  are  not  actuated  by  the 
noblest  of  human  motives  but  are  simply  seeking  a 
good  time,  and  are  willing  to  pay  the  price. 

You  mothers  are  fools  to  force  your  daughters  to 
marry  some  old  lobster  simply  because  he  has  money, 
and  when  he  dies  your  girl  will  be  able  to  ride  in  a 
buzz  wagon  instead  of  hot-footing  it.  You're  fools. 

Some  mothers  will  find  that  it  would  have  been 
far  easier  to  have  buried  their  girls  than  to  have  mar- 
ried them  to  some  damnable,  cigaret-smoking,  cursing 
libertine. 

The  devil  and  the  women  can  damn  the  world. 

If  a  God-fearing  man  marries  a  God-fearing  wo- 
man they  will  have  God-fearing  children. 

I  tell  you,  the  virtue  of  womanhood  is  the  ram- 
part of  civilization.  You  break  that  down  and  you 
pave  the  way  to  hell. 

There  are  60,000  girls  ruined  in  America  every 
year.  A  man  caught  dealing  in  white  slavery  should 
be  shot  on  the  spot. 

Society  has  just  about  put  maternity  out  of  busi- 
ness. And  when  you  stop  to  consider  the  average 


EPISODES,    INCIDENTS,    COMMENT,  ETC.  219 

society  woman.     I  do  not  think  that  maternity  has 
lost  anything. 

Look  at  the  girls  on  the  auction  block  daily.  Look 
at  the  awful  battle  the  average  stenographer  and  the 
average  clerk  has  to  fight.  You  cannot  wear  fine 
clothes  daily  on  six  dollars  a  week  and  be  on  the 
square  as  much  as  you  are,  without  having  people  sus- 
picious. 

SUNDAY'S  JOURNEY  THROUGH  THE  BIBLE 

Twenty  odd  years  ago,  with  the  Holy  Spirit  as  my 
guide,  I  entered  at  the  portico  of  Genesis  and  went 
into  the  art  gallery  of  the  Old  Testament  where,  on 
the  wall,  hung  the  pictures  of  Enoch,  Noah,  Jacob, 
Abraham,  Elijah,  David,  Daniel,  and  other  famous 
prophets  of  old.  Then  I  passed  into  the  Music  Room 
of  the  Psalms  where  the  Spirit  swept  the  keyboard  of 
my  nature  and  brought  forth  the  dirgelike  wail  of  the 
Weeping  Prophet,  Jeremiah,  to  the  grand  exultant 
strain  of  the  24th  Psalm  and  where  every  reed  and 
pipe  in  God's  great  organ  of  nature  seemed  to  respond 
to  the  tuneful  harp  of  David  as  he  played  for  King 
Saul  in  his  melancholy  moods.  Next  I  passed  into 
the  business  office  of  Proverbs,  and  into  the  Chapel  of 
Ecclesiastics,  where  the  voice  of  the  Preacher  was 
heard;  then  over  into  the  conservatory  of  the  Songs 
of  Solomon  where  the  Lily  of  the  Valley  and  the  Rose 
of  Sharon  and  the  sweet-scented  spices  perfumed  my 
life.  Then  I  stepped  into  the  prophetic  room  and  saw 
telescopes  of  various  sizes,  some  pointing  to  far  off 
stars  or  events  and  others  to  nearby  stars,  but  all  con- 
centrated upon  the  bright  and  Morning  Star  which 
was  to  rise  above  the  moonlit  hills  of  Judea  while  the 


220  REV.   BILLY   SUNDAY 

Shepherds  guarded  their  flocks  by  night.  From  there 
I  passed  into  the  audience  room  and  caught  a  vision 
of  the  King  from  the  standpoint  of  Matthew,  Mark, 
Luke  and  John.  I  then  went  into  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  where  the  Holy  Spirit  was  doing  His  office 
work  in  the  formation  of  the  Infant  Church.  From 
there  I  went  to  the  correspondence  room  where  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  Luke,  John,  Paul,  Peter,  James  and  Jude 
sat  at  their  desks,  penning  their  epistles  to  the  church. 
Then  I  passed  last  of  all  into  the  throne  of  Revelation 
and  saw  the  King  sitting  high  upon  His  throne  where 
I  fell  at  his  feet  and  cried,  "God  be  merciful  to  me, 
a  sinner." 

SUNDAY  ON  AMUSEMENTS 

The  theater,  as  conducted  today,  is  one  of  the  rot- 
tenest  institutions  outside  of  hell. 

The  dance  is  the  moral  graveyard  of  many  in- 
nocent girls. 

Passion  is  the  basis  of  the  popularity  of  the 
dance. 

If  you  make  women  dance  by  themselves  and  men 
with  the  men  the  dance  would  stop  in  two  weeks. 

The  gambler  played  his  first  game  in  a  church 
member's  home. 

Three- fourths  of  the  girls  who  are  ruined  in 
New  York  each  got  their  downfall  in  the  dance. 

The  dance  is  not  an  innocent  amusement.  It 
sends  thousands  of  girls  to  their  downfall. 

A  dancing  church  member  is  not  a  soul  winner 
member. 

The  dance  permits  and  allows  freedom  thmt  will 
be  such  as  to  allow  divorce  anywhere  else. 


EPISODES,    INCIDENTS,    COMMENT,  ETC.  221 

If  it  wasn't  for  the  church  members  there  would 
not  be  a  saloon  in  existence  today. 

The  church  bars  are  so  low  down  that  most  any 
old  hog  with  three  suits  and  a  bank  account  can  get 
inside. 

I  would  rather  be  a  chambermaid  in  a  livery  stable 
than  a  caller  for  a  dance. 

Card  playing  is  the  most  insidious  contribution 
of  vice  in  the  world  today. 

Cards  and  the  dance  are  doing  more  to  stifle  the 
spiritual  life  of  the  church  than  do  the  saloons. 

I  have  more  respect  for  a  hog  who  gambles  in 
Monte  Carlo  than  for  a  woman  who  plays  for  a  prize 
in  her  home. 

I  don't  think  much  of  a  preacher  who  condemns 
the  police  for  not  stopping  gambling  and  yet  don't 
say  anything  against  card  playing  in  the  homes. 

There  is  more  damnation  in  the  average  club 
than  in  any  other  public  institution  I  know. 

The  Christian  homes  are  often  the  kindergarten 
of  gambling  hells. 

No  man  believes  more  in  amusement  than  I  do  but 
I  like  that  which  recreates  and  does  not  tear  down 
right  inclinations. 

There  is  as  much  difference  betwen  a  game  of 
cards  and  authors  as  there  is  between  hell  and  heaven. 

SUNDAY'S  DREAM  OF  HEAVEN 

"Some  years  ago,  after  I  had  been  romping  and 
playing  with  the  children,"  he  said,  "I  grew  tired 
and  lay  down,  and  half  awake  and  half  asleep,  I  had 
a  dream. 


222  REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 

"I  dreamed  I  was  in  a  far  off  land;  it  was  not 
Persia,  but  all  the  glitter  and  gaudy  raiment  was 
there;  It  was  not  India,  although  her  coral  strands 
were  there;  it  was  not  Ceylon,  although  all  the  beau- 
ties of  that  island  of  paradise  were  there;  it  was  not 
Italy,  although  the  soft  dreamy  haze  of  the  blue  Ital- 
ian skies  shone  above  me.  I  looked  for  weeds  and 
briers,  thorns  and  thistles  and  brambles  and  found 
none.  I  saw  the  sun  in  all  its  regal  splendor  and 
I  said  to  the  people:  'When  will  the  sun  set  and  it 
grow  dark?'  They  all  laughed  and  said:  'It  never 
grows  dark  in  this  land;  there  is  no  night  here.'  I 
looked  at  the  people,  their  faces  wreathed  in  a  sim- 
ple halo  of  glory,  attired  in  holiday  clothing.  I  said : 
'When  will  the  working  men  go  by  clad  in  overalls? 
And  where  are  the  brawny  men  who  work  and  toil 
over  the  anvil?'  They  said:  'We  toil  not,  neither 
do  we  spin;  there  remaineth  a  rest  for  the  people  of 
God.' 

"I  strolled  out  in  the  suburbs.  I  said:  'Where 
are  the  graveyards,  the  grave  diggers?  Where  do 
you  bury  your  dead  ?'  They  said  'We  never  die  here.' 

"I  looked  out  and  saw  the  towers  and  spires:  I 
looked  at  them,  but  I  did  not  see  any  tombstones, 
mausoleums,  nor  green  nor  flower-covered  graves.  I 
said :  'Where,  where,  are  the  hearses  that  carry  your 
dead?  Where  are  the  undertakers  that  embalm  the 
dead?'  They  said:  'We  never  die  in  this  land.'  I 
said :  'Where  are  hospitals  where  they  take  the  sick  ? 
Where  are  the  surgeons  that  come  with  scalpel  and 
knife?  Where  is  the  minister,  and  where  are  the 
nurses  to  give  the  gentle  touch,  the  penacea?'  They 
said:  'We  never  grow  sick  in  this  land.'  I  said: 


EPISODES,   INCIDENTS,    COMMENT,  ETC.  223 

'Where  are  the  houses  of  want  and  squalor?  Where 
live  the  poor?'  They  said:  'There  is  no  penury; 
none  die  here;  none  ever  cry  for  bread  in  this  land.' 
I  was  bewildered.  I  strolled  along  and  heard  the  rip- 
ple of  the  waters  as  the  waves  broke  against  the 
jeweled  beach.  I  saw  boats  with  oars  tipped  with 
silver,  bow  of  pure  gold.  I  saw  multitudes  that  no 
man  could  number.  We  all  jumped  down  through 
the  violets  and  varicolored  flowers,  the  air  pulsing 
with  bird  song,  and  I  cried:  'Are — all — here?'  And 
they  echoed  back :  'All — are — here.' 

"And  we  went  leaping  and  shouting  and  vied  with 
tower  and  spire,  and  they  all  caroled  and  sung  my 
welcome,  and  we  all  bounded  and  leaped  and  shouted 
with  glee :  'Home — Home — Home.'  " 

SUNDAY'S  ESTIMATE  OF  SOLOMON 
/} 

Solomon,  acording  to  Sunday,  was  a  millionaire 

baby,  born  with  a  golden  diamond-plated  spoon  in  his 
mouth,  who  developed  into  a  thirty-third  degree  sport 
— having  taken  all  the  regular  degrees  and  invented  a 
few  of  his  own.  He  was  surrounded  by  high-brow 
courtiers  until  he  drank  dry  the  well  of  knowledge 
and  pulled  out  the  pump.  Even  as  a  kid  he  was  so 
precocious  that  he  exhausted  the  curriculum  and  gave 
his  teachers  nervous  headaches.  And  after  he  had 
finished  his  schooling  he  cut  loose  on  sport  until  he 
made  a  good  world  series  ball  fan  look  like  a  clothing 
store  dummy. 

He  drove  his  diamond-studded  chariot  so  fast 
that  he  woud  have  dusted  the  eyes  of  Barney  Old- 
field.  He  set  the  bleachers  crazy  as  he  galloped  by. 


224  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

And  as  a  side  line  he  started  into  the  matrimonial 
market  and  with  his  700  wives  and  300  concubines 
made  Brigham  Young  look  like  a  dirty  deuce. 

Taking  to  wine,  he  hit  the  booze  as  it  has  never 
since  been  hit.  He  had  all  the  grapes  of  his  kingdom 
crushed  into  a  great  lake  of  wine,  millions  of  gallons. 
He  took  up  architecture  as  a  side  line,  and  built  his 
temple  30  times  as  large  as  the  tabernacle.  He  had 
so  much  gold  dumped  at  his  feet  every  year  that  he 
could  have  bought  and  sold  Columbus  a  few  times 
and  never  missed  it.  He  was  no  bum  panhandling 
for  a  hand-out  or  mooching  for  a  flapjack.  Not  on 
your  life.  He  had  so  much  coin  that  R.  G.  Dun  or 
Bradstreet  would  have  needed  new  rating  symbols. 
After  running  the  extreme  gamut  of  human  pleasure 
he  found  he  needed  something  else.  "What  profit  has 
a  man  of  all  his  labor  which  he  taketh  under  the  sun," 
he  wrote. — Columbus  Dispatch. 

BIBLE  VERSION  SUNDAY'S    VERSION 

5.  And    the    people    spake  The  Jews  were  in  Egyptian 
against  God  and  against  Mo-  bondage  for  years.    God  said 
ses.     Wherefore    have    ye  He  would  release  them,  but 
brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt  to  He   hadn't   come.     But    God 
die  in  the  wilderness  for  there  never   forgets.     So   he   came 
is  no  bread,  neither  is  there  and  chose  Moses  to  lead  them, 
any    water ;     and    our    soul  and  when  Moses  got  them  out 
loatheth  this  light  bread.  in  the  wilderness  they  began 

6.  And  the  Lord  sent  fiery  to  knock  and  said,  "Who  is 
serpents    among    the    people,  this  Moses  anyway,  we  don't 
and  they  bit  the  people;  and  know  him.     Were  there  not 
much  people  of  Israel  died.  enough  graves  in  Egypt?"  and 

1.  Therefore  the  people  they  said  they  didn't  like  the 
came  to  Moses  and  said.  We  white  bread  they  were  getting 
have  sinned  for  we  have  and  wanted  the  onions  and 


EPISODES,   INCIDENTS,   COMMENT,  ETC. 


225 


spoken  against  the  Lord  and 
against  thee;  pray  unto  the 
Lord  that  he  take  away  the 
serpents  from  us.  And  Moses 
prayed  for  the  people. 

8.  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Moses,  Make  thee  a  fiery  ser- 
pent, and  set  it  upon  a  pole, 
and  it  shall  come  to  pass  that 
every  one  that  is  bitten,  when 
he  looketh  upon  it,  shall  live. 

9.  And  Moses  made  a  ser- 
pent of  brass  and  put  it  upon 
a  pole  and  it  came  to  pass, 
that  if  a  serpent  had  bitten 
any  man,  when  he  beheld  the 
serpent  of  brass,  he  lived. 


the  leeks  and  the  garlic  and 
melons  of  Egypt,  and  they 
found  fault  and  God  sent  the 
serpents  and  was  going  to 
kill  them  all,  but  Moses  inter- 
ceded and  said,  "Now  see 
here  God."  But  the  Lord 
said,  "Get  out  of  the  way, 
Moses,  and  let  me  kill  them 
all."  But  Moses  said,  "Hold 
on  there,  Lord.  That  bunch 
would  have  the  laugh  on  You 
if  You  did  that.  They'd  say 
You  brought  them  out  here 
and  the  commissary  stores  ran 
out  and  You  couldn't  feed 
them,  so  You  just  killed  them 
all."  So  God  said,  "All  right, 
for  your  sake,  Moses,  I 
won't,"  and  He  said,  "Moses 
you  go  and  set  up  a  brazen 
serpent  in  the  wilderness  and 
that  will  be  the  one  thing  that 
will  save  them  if  they  are  bit- 
ten. They  must  look  or  die." 


PARAPHRASE    OF    FEEDING    THE    MULTITUDES 


SUNDAY'S  VERSION 
"When  the  disciples  saw  the 
great  crowd  gathered  to  see 
Jesus  and  saw  they  were  hun- 
gry   they   were    scared    silly. 
Finally    they    went    to  Jesus 
with  their  trouble  and   said, 
"Lord,  send  them  away.    We 
can't    feed    them    all."      But 
Jesus  told  Philip  to  feed  them. 
That    was    too    much    for 
*15 


MATTHEW'S  VERSION 
"And  when  it  was  evening, 
His  disciples  came  to  Him, 
saying :  This  is  a  desert  place, 
and  the  time  is  now  past ; 
send  the  multitude  away  that 
they  may  go  into  the  villages, 
and  buy  themselves  victuals. 

"But  Jesus  said  unto  them, 
They  need  not  depart;  give  ye 
them  to  eat. 


226 


REV.    BILLY   SUNDAY 


poor,  old,  practical  Philip. 
"Why,  we  haven't  anything  to 
feed  them  with,"  he  informed 
Jesus.  "Two  hundred  penny- 
worth of  bread  wouldn't  feed 
all  that  hungry  crowd." 

But  Jesus  looked  around 
and  spied  a  little  boy  whose 
ma  had  given  him  five  bis- 
cuits and  a  couple  of  sardines 
for  his  lunch,  and  said  to  him, 
"Come  here,  son,  the  Lord 
wants  you."  Then  He  told 
the  lad  what  He  wanted,  and 
the  boy  said,  "It  isn't  much, 
Jesus,  but  what  there  is  you're 
mighty  welcome  to  it !" 

So  Jesus  took  the  biscuits 
and  the  sardines  and  fed  that 
whole  bunch  and  they  all  had 
all  they  wanted,  and  after 
they  got  through  the  disciples 
went  around  and  picked  up 
twelve  basketsful  of  the  frag- 
ments. 

Then  the  evangelist  pointed 
the  moral,  "You  can't  all  be 
Peters  and  James  and  Johns, 
but  you  can  all  be  barley 
loaves  and  fishes  for  God." 


«  And  they  said  unto  Him, 
We  have  here  but  five  loaves 
and  two  fishes. 

"He  said,  Bring  them  hither 
to  Me. 

"And  He  commanded  the 
multitude  to  sit  down  on  the 
grass,  and  took  the  five 
loaves,  and  the  two  fishes,  and 
looked  up  to  heaven.  He 
blessed,  and  brake,  and  gave 
the  loaves  to  His  disciples, 
and  the  disciples  to  the  multi- 
tude. 

"And  they  all  did  eat  and 
were  filled  and  they  took  up 
the  fragments  that  remained 
twelve  baskets  full. 

"And  they  that  had  eaten 
were  about  five  thousand  men, 
besides  women  and  children." 


SUNDAY  S  TRIBUTE  TO  GENERAL  LEE 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war  General  Robert 
£.  Lee  said  to  General  Scott  that  he  was  a  Union 
man  at  heart,  but  that  his  native  state  of  Virginia 
had  seceded  and  that  as  a  loyal  son  he  felt  he  must 
cast  his  fortunes  with  the  Confederacy.  As  the  war 
proceeded,  Lee  saw  the  bright  hopes  of  the  Confed- 


EPISODES,    INCIDENTS,    COMMENT,  ETC.  227 

eracy  fade,  saw  its  government  overturned  and  broken 
at  his  feet.  When  the  end  came  he  was  a  prematurely 
old  man,  his  health  fled,  his  fortune  gone,  his  property 
at  Arlington  confiscated.  At  that  time  of  despair 
there  came  to  him  the  officers  of  the  Louisiana  Lot- 
tery company,  offering  to  make  him  its  president. 

"  'But,  gentlemen/  he  said,  'I  don't  know  any- 
thing about  the  lottery  business.' 

"  'That  makes  no  difference,'  they  said,  'we  do. 
We  want  the  use  of  your  name,  and  we  will  give  you 
$10,000  a  year.' 

"General  Lee  buttoned  his  coat  over  his  sunken 
breast,  brushed  back  his  gray  hair  from  his  forehead, 
and  said:  .  'Gentlemen,  my  good  name  and  self  re- 
spect are  all  that  is  saved  from  the  wreck,  and  they 
are  not  for  sale.  You  cannot  buy  Robert  E.  Lee.' 

"My  father  was  a  Union  soldier.  I  am  a  loyal 
American,  but  I  say  that  Robert  E.  Lee  was  one  of 
the  noblest  Christian  characters  this  country  has  ever 
produced,  and  that  Stonewall  Jackson  was  another." 

SUNDAY'S  TRIBUTE  TO  LINCOLN 

The  Angels  said,  "let  us  hide  Abraham  Lincoln 
where  the  world  will  never  find  him,"  and  they  hid 
his  big,  kind,  generous,  humanitarian,  sympathetic, 
God-fearing  soul  in  that  long,  lean,  lank,  homely, 
gaunt,  ungainly  body.  They  bronzed  his  cheeks  until 
he  looked  like  an  Indian.  They  hardened  his  hands 
with  toil.  For  employment  they  gave  him  common 
work,  the  poling  a  flatboat  on  the  Ohio  river  and 
clerking  in  a  country  store. 

But,  while  drifting  down  the  stream,  he  was 
solving  problems  that  would  help  him  up  the  stream. 


228  REV.    BILLY    SUNDAY 

And  while  clerking  in  the  country  store  he  was  learn- 
ing whole  chapters  from  the  book  of  human  expe- 
rience which  became  golden  rounds  in  the  ladder  of 
fame  up  which  he  climbed  to  the  top. 

For  parents,  they  gave  him  common  people  whose 
names  were  unknown  five  miles  away;  for  a  home, 
a  log  cabin  in  the  wilderness.  The  battle  would  grow 
hard.  He  would  grit  his  teeth,  buckle  up  his  yarn 
galluses  a  little  tighter  and  determine  that  he  would 
be  somebody,  anyway.  He  would  spread  the  ashes 
thin  on  the  dirt  floor  of  his  log  cabin  home  and,  with 
a  hickory  log  in  the  fireplace  for  a  light  and  a  hickory 
stick  for  a  pencil,  he  solved  problems  from  Euclid 
and  read  the  life  of  Washington  and  other  great  men. 

Finally,  the  angels  could  keep  him  hid  no  longer, 
so  one  morning  this  old  sleepy,  dreamy,  drowsy  world 
rolled  out  of  bed,  rubbed  her  eyes  and  started  on  a 
still  hunt  for  a  great  man.  She  struck  a  new  scent 
and  a  new  trail  that  led  out  through  the  woods  into 
the  wilderness  and  up  a  hill  to  a  log  cabin.  She 
rapped  at  the  door  and  Lincoln  arose — so  big,  so  high, 
so  tall  that  the  logs  rolled  down  the  roof  and  fell  off 
and  he  stepped  forth — a  giant  among  men.  Fame  has 
placed  him  upon  a  pinnacle  so  lofty  that  he  looks  down 
upon  all  who  attempt  to  reach  his  side. 


AUTHORITIES    QUOTED    IN    "SPECTACU- 
LAR CAREER  OF  REV.  BILLY 
SUNDAY." 


F.  J.  Sessions,  Superintendent,  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home, 
Davenport,  Iowa. 

S.  W.  Pierce   (Superintendent  of  the  S.  O.  Home  when 
Sunday  was  there),  Davenport,  Iowa. 

Charles  H.  Hall  (Mayor)  Nevada,  Iowa. 

Dr.  Nathan  Wilbur  Helm,  Principal  Evanston  Academy, 
Evanston,  Illinois. 

Dr.  Robert  McWatty  Russell,  Westminster  College,  New 
Wilmington,  Pa. 

Frank  C.  Richter,  Editor  Sporting  Life,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

L.    Wilbur    Messer,    General    Secretary,    Young    Men's 
Christian  Association,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

Judge  H.  E.  Burgess,  Aledo,  Illinois. 

N.  W.  Rowell,  Afton,  Iowa. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Neyman,  Bedford,  Iowa. 

Rev.  C  John,  Maryville,  Missouri. 

Editor,  Gazette,  Sterling,  Illinois. 

Editor,  News,  Atlantic,  Iowa. 

Editor,   Leader,   Pontiac,   Illinois. 

C.   F.   McFarland,  Keokuk,  Iowa. 

Editor,  Record,  Canon  City,  Colorado. 

Editor,  Journal,  Macomb,  Illinois. 

W.  H.  Davidson,  Managing  Editor,  Burlington  Hawkeye, 
Burlington,  Iowa. 

A.  P.  Gove,  Editor,  Rochester  Daily  Bulletin,  Rochester, 
Minnesota. 

H.  U.  Bailey,  Editor,  Bureau  County  Republican,  Prince- 
ton, Illinois. 

Editor,  Herald,  Austin,  Minnesota. 

F.    C.    Woody,    Cashier,    First    National    Bank,    Salida, 
Colorado. 

229 


230  REV.   BILLY   SUNDAY 

W.  W.  Whipple,  Editor,  Galesburg  Mail,  Galesburg, 
Illinois. 

Frank  D.  Throop,  Publisher,  Muscatine  Journal,  Musca- 
tine,  Iowa. 

J.  L.  Scofield,  General  Secretary,  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  Bloomington,  Illinois. 

W.  F.  Hardy,  Editor,  The  Herald,  Decatur,  Illinois. 

Ralph  W.  Roberts,  Secretary,  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, Sharon,  Pa. 

E.  P.  Canny,  Ottumwa  Courier,  Ottumwa,  Iowa. 

Editor,  Jacksonville  Journal,  Jacksonville,  Illinois. 

Rev.  Conrad  Bluhm,  Pastor  Centenary  Presbyterian 
Church,  Spokane,  Washington. 

Secretary,  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Boulder, 
Colorado. 

W.  G.  Young,  Editor  Cedar  Rapids  Gazette,  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa. 

E.  L.  McKelvey,  Youngstown,  Ohio. 
Editor,  Herald,  New  Castle,  Pa. 

Edgar  W.  Cooley,  Waterloo  Reporter,  Waterloo,  Iowa. 

James  Pfeiffer,  Portsmouth,  Ohio. 

Rev.  T.  H.  Campbell,  Pastor  King  Avenue  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

L.  J.  Beecher,  City  Editor,  Toledo  Blade,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Editor,  Herald,  Erie,  Pa. 

James  S.  Webb,  Springfield,  Ohio. 

Rev.  Andrew  Brodie,  Wichita,  Kansas. 

Rev.  Jay  W.  Somerville,  Pastor  St.  Paul  M.  E.  Church, 
Wichita,  Kansas. 

Wm.  A.  Ernst,  Canton  Repository,  Canton,  Ohio. 

Charles  E.  Miner,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 

Rev.  W.  S.  Dysinger,  Pastor  First  English  Lutheran 
Church,  Wheeling,  W.  Va. 

Ralph  R.  Wolf,  Secretary  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, Fargo,  N.  D. 

Rev.  George  B.  Laird,  Beaver  Falls,  Pa. 

F.  S.  Reader,  Editor,  Beaver  Valley  News,  Beaver  Falls, 
Pa. 


AUTHORITIES     QUOTED  231 

C.  V.  Talbot,  Managing  Editor,  Morning  Tribune,  East 
Liverpool,  Ohio. 

Rev.  W.  M.  Randies,  Pastor  Bethesda  Congregational 
Church,  Wilkes-Barre,  Pa. 

Wilbur  R.  Armstrong,  South  Bend  Tribune,  South  Bend, 
Indiana. 

Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman,  3  Park  Gardens,  W.,  Glasgow, 
Scotland. 

Melvin  E.  Trotter,  City  Rescue  Mission,  Grand  Rapids, 
Michigan. 

Fred  G.  Fischer,  808  Edgecomb  Place,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

G.  Walter  Barr,  Keokuk,  Iowa. 

Miss  Julia  Brandon  Cole,  South  Bend  Tribune,  South 
Bend,  Indiana. 

E.  Kenneth  Todd,  South  Bend  Tribune,  South  Bend,  In- 
diana. 

Steubenville  Gazette,  Steubenville,  Ohio. 


PUBLICATIONS  AND  RECORDS  CON- 
SULTED. 


Records,  County  Clerk's  Office,  Cook  County,  Illinois. 
Hampton's  Magazine,  June  1910. 
American  Magazine,  September  1907. 
Collier's  National  Weekly,  Spring  of  1913. 
Who's  Who,  Volume  7. 

The  Congregationalist  &  Christian  World,  April  24,  1913. 
Life  and  Labors  of  W.  A.  Sunday. 

Records,    United    States    War    Department,    Washington, 
D.  C. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


MAY  0  2  2002 


Unive 
Soi 
Li 


